


Love, Dream

by kirbakii



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Crushes, Falling In Love, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, I don't know what else to tag, I'll add stuff as I go I suppose, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 63,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27479887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirbakii/pseuds/kirbakii
Summary: George had several expectations when he signed up for the student exchange program that would have him abroad for six months. He expected the new faces, the foreign places and sports, even the different way of teaching.What he didn't expect, however, was to receive an email from a stranger two days in.He looked at the email address."dreamwastaken@gmail.com"Huh.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 385
Kudos: 1147





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four boys and one girl arrive in America.

"Are you nervous?"

George glanced down to his right to meet wide, brown eyes peering up at him.

"A little bit," he admitted as the slightly shorter boy began jumping in place a bit beside him.

"I'm so so nervous, I think I'm about to combust!"

"Stop hopping on the escalator, Tubbo, you'll end up breaking it," a voice right behind them scolded. George and Tubbo glanced back and up at the tall boy standing behind them that would've been menacing due to his height and the added fact that he was a step above them as they made their descent, but the yellow sweater, round glasses and black beanie made him seem non-threatening and almost huggable.

At least, George thought it was a yellow sweater.

"Sorry, Wilbur, I just feel so jittery!" Tubbo played with the collar of his own yellow shirt (or was it supposed to be green? George couldn't tell), then at the straps of his backpack, his expression still displaying the same nervousness as before.

"Ignore him, Tubbo, let's break this thing," the boy standing beside Wilbur suddenly proclaimed before he grabbed hold of the straps of his backpack and began hopping up and down on the step. George felt the escalator shaking a bit as Wilbur began yelling at the blonde boy still jumping while cackling like a maniac.

"Tommy, stop it right now!" Wilbur ordered as he grabbed hold of his shoulders to hold him still.

"You can't touch me, Wilbur, that is harassment. I'm calling my lawyer."

"You don't have a lawyer, Tommy."

"Yes I do, it's Big Law right here," Tommy gestured towards Tubbo as he puffed out his chest proudly.

"I am a lawyer."

"No you are not."

"Yes I am. I am the law."

George noticed they were almost at the bottom of the escalator and quickly pointed it out to the others, who finally settled down as they stepped off of it at the bottom.

"Hold on guys, wait for Niki," Wilbur said before anyone could start walking away. The four of them watched as Niki made it to the bottom of the escalator as well, as she had been several steps above them. She smiled at them apologetically as she trotted a bit to catch up, her boots clicking on the floor as she readjusted the straps of her overall.

"Do you need help carrying that?" Wilbur asked when she caught up with them. She glanced down at her carrier bag that was visibly stuffed to the brim before shaking her head and smiling up at him, tucking a strand of blonde hair that had fallen on her face behind her ear.

"It's okay, Wil, I can carry it. Besides, you have your own bag to worry about," she tapped his own carrier bag lightly as Wilbur shrugged and responded with an "If you say so" before they began walking towards the baggage carousel to get the rest of their luggage.

"Simp," Tommy snickered under his breath so only Tubbo and George could hear. Tubbo let out a laugh as George rolled his eyes but smiled fondly. They proceeded to follow the pair already some ways ahead of them.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Are you friends with georgenotfound?"

George perked up at the use of the username he has for practically everything and spotted a boy, probably taller than him but not taller than Tommy, standing in front of the loud Brit. Tommy let out a thunderous laugh at the question, drowned out by the chatter of the families and friends reuniting or meeting up at the airport, before glancing over to George and pointing at the boy that had asked the question, an amused smile on his face.

"George! This guy asked me if I'm friends with 'georgenotfound!'" Tommy yelled at him before he fell into another round of hysterical laughter. George walked over to the two, making sure not to hit anyone with the carry on luggage he was pulling behind him.

The boy that had asked the question turned towards George now, recognition lighting up his face. He was wearing a multicolored hoodie with a yellow (green?) swirl in the center that had been what first caught George's eye. The boy lifted up a white board George hadn't noticed he had been holding, with the words "georgenotfound" scrawled on it in black marker.

"I'm going to be your host family! Welcome to America!" He grinned widely, now stretching out his hand for George to take. He shook it, the boy shaking it a bit too aggressively.

"Oh, are you Karl Jacobs?" George asked, remembering the name of the boy that was going to be hosting him for the next six months. Karl nodded excitedly.

"The one and only. I can't wait to get to know you better, georgenotfound!"

"Excuse me, why does this twat keep calling you georgenotfound," Tommy finally spoke up, ignoring the offended "Hey!" from Karl. George merely shrugged before Karl spoke up again.

"That's your email! It was on your student file thingy, I don't know what it's called, but I saw your email georgenotfound@gmail.com and thought it was pretty neat," he explained, pushing the brown locks falling just above his eyes to a side only for them to flop back into place.

"Yeah, that's the username I use for most things," George explained sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Tommy, I found our host family!" he heard Tubbo call out from somewhere in the crowd.

"More like you barreled into me, you muffin," an unfamiliar voice responded, but George didn't catch sight from who it had come from. Tommy patted George's shoulder, bringing his attention back up at the British boy.

"I guess this is farewell, georgenotfound. Until next time," Tommy stated dramatically with the most serious expression he could muster.

"Don't be so dramatic and go. I'll see you on Monday," George rolled his eyes while trying to bite back a smile, one that he wasn't able to hold back when Tommy's own wide grin broke through. He saluted before walking away towards the direction Tubbo and the host family taking them both in probably were. George turned back to Karl, who had been waiting for him patiently with the same genuine and awfully contagious smile he had on before.

"Ready to go, Georgie?" he bounced a bit in place as George gave him a shy smile in return at the new nickname.

"Sure, let's go."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George was walking with Karl and his mom, who had been nice enough to offer to carry some of his luggage, through the airport. Karl was going on about how they would be sharing a room and to ignore his brother Sean when they got home because he thinks it would be funny, but George was only half paying attention. He couldn't help but peer around at everything around him, most stores foreign to him as they did not have them back in England.

He had been staring at a restaurant named 'Chili's' that he didn't notice someone running in his direction and ended up colliding right into them. Due to the heavy backpack still on his back, he let out a small shriek as he lost his balanced and toppled backwards, the person that had accidentally tackled him landing on top. He heard Karl squeak in surprise and Karl's mom gasp before moving to make sure the two of them were okay.

"Oh shit, I am so so so sorry," an unfamiliar voice with a heavy American accent said. George blinked up at a boy getting up and off of him.

"I shouldn't have been running, I'm just late to pick up the family I'm supposed to be hosting and- wait, why am I even telling a stranger this. He doesn't care, shut up," the boy started muttering to himself as he stood up, shaking his head at his own rambling and dusting himself off.

George continued to peer up at the boy, still half laying on the floor. He had dirty blonde hair and a light complexion, freckles dusting his cheeks that had been more clear when he had been practically inches away from his own face. He had noticed he had yellow eyes- but yellow eyes aren't a thing. So green eyes? Probably green eyes. The yellow hoodie he had on (was it really yellow?) was visibly a bit dirty now.

The boy outstretched his hand, offering it to George. He took it after a moments hesitation and was hoisted back up to his feet.

"Thanks, and I should've been paying attention where I was going, too," George shrugged as the boy shook his head.

"No way, my fault," he insisted, his own hand reaching up to ruffle his own blonde locks a bit.

"Oh, Clay!" Karl said suddenly, seemingly recognizing the boy that had crashed into George a second prior. Clay turned towards him and a bright smile lighting up his face as he recognized Karl in turn.

"Karl! Hey dude, how has your break been."

"It's been good, especially now since, you know, I'm picking up the kid I'm going to be hosting," he said as he pointed in George's direction. George decided to ignore the 'kid' bit in favor of realizing he was being introduced.

"Oh, so you are one of the exchange students," Clay noted, not so subtly looking George up and down. "Explains the accent."

"Yeah, this is georgenotfound," Karl stated as he wrapped an arm over George's shoulder. George tensed a bit, still not used to how friendly and outgoing Karl seemed to be with new people.

"Georgenotfound?" Clay repeated, his smile widening more so as he glanced at George, clearly amused. George felt his face flush slightly, starting to feel a bit embarrassed of the username with the amount of times it had been pointed out just that day.

"He got that from my email. It's just George," George waved him off as Clay's amused grin only broadened.

"Okay, georgenotfound. Since I'm meeting you, doesn't it mean you are found, though?" George huffed exasperatedly at Clay's lame attempt at a joke, the latter chuckling at his own humor. "I'm Clay."

"Nice to meet you, too, Clay," George drawled sarcastically, making Clay let out a short laugh. George fought back the smile threatening to ruin the unimpressed look he was going for.

"Hey Clay, where's the student you're supposed to be hosting?" Karl spoke up, the reminder making Clay's eyes widen.

"Shit! Right, that's what I was doing! Aggghhh I am so late and I keep getting sidetracked-" Clay screeched, beginning to run away. "See you guys! And nice to meet you, georgenotfound!"

"It's George!" George yelled back as Clay let out a loud wheeze, his laughter fading as he booked it down the hall.

"Are all Americans this annoying," George deadpanned, causing Karl to let out a laugh that sounded like a mix between Pennywise's laugh and Spongebob's. It made George finally crack a smile as they continued to walk towards the parking lot, George glancing back down the hall one last time to see Clay was already out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for the prologue! I've written fics before, but never based off of real people.
> 
> Sorry if anyone's OOC, It's probably on purpose since I'm basing it more off of their Minecraft personas/skins than the real people and allowing myself some creative liberty to not make it too weird.
> 
> Anyways, I have an idea of where I want to take this, but most of it is going to be improvised. Feel free to give me ideas in the comments of what you guys want to see and I might just include them! (I will give you credit, no worries)
> 
> Thanks for considering reading this story and hope you enjoy it as much as I am enjoying writing it <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George receives an email.

"Hey Claydoh!"

"Don't call me that."

"I missed you Claydoh."

"Stop."

Clay turned to give a playful glare at Nick as he let out a wicked cackle.

"You love me, man."

"I do not," Clay huffed, but they both knew the opposite was true. He swung his locker door shut, revealing an incredibly tall boy standing at the other side of Clay.

"Oh hey, are you the exchange student staying at Clay's house?" Nick asked as he leaned on the row of lockers. The boy moved around Clay to extend a hand towards Nick, who took it and shook it.

"I am. I'm Wilbur Soot, pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm Nick."

"Everyone calls him Sapnap, though," Clay chuckled as he, too, leaned his weight on the locker. Sapnap rolled his eyes so hard they practically went into the back of his head.

"That is actually so dumb. I still don't even understand how that caught on so fast," Sapnap scoffed as he crossed his arms. Clay let out a short laugh.

"Oh come on now, you know. Cause of that one time you mispronounced pandas so bad, remember? You were saying words backwards because you're 'so good at that,' and for the word 'pandas' you said 'sapnap' instead of 'sadnap.' You messed up in front of the whole football team, no less," Clay let out a wheeze as Sapnap told him to shut up.

"That is an...interesting sequence of events," Wilbur said, obviously confused but pretending to understand. Clay patted his shoulder, not very used to people being taller than him.

"It's okay, sometimes I don't understand him either. He's kind of weird, but I stick around cause I feel bad for him," Clay said solemnly, making Sapnap lightly smack his head as Clay let out another wheeze. Wilbur, at least, cracked a smile.

The first bell rang just then, signaling 10 minutes until classes would start.

"C'mon ladies, let's get to class, shall we?" Sapnap tried a British accent, but it ended up sounding more Irish. Wilbur let out a short laugh at his failed attempt while the three of them made their way to their home room class.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Karl!"

"Sapnap!"

George watched as Karl shot out of his chair beside him and launched himself at the boy that had just walked through the doorway. Karl practically tackled him in a hug, the other laughing and giving him a tight squeeze before spinning him around as Karl let out another chortle. He noticed the boy had dark brown hair, nearly black, and his skin seemed to be tanned possibly from hours in the sun. He wore a white shirt with what he assumed was supposed to be a flame on the center as well as black ripped pants and checkered converse.

"Get a room," someone said behind the two. George realized it was the same boy he had (literally) ran into at the airport the day before.

"You're just jealous you don't have what we have, Clay," the boy with the flame shirt scoffed as he dramatically fell backwards into Karl's arms, who just barely caught him and dipped him dramatically.

"Trueeee," Karl agreed as he lifted flame boy back up.

"George, hey," a familiar voice said, making George direct his attention to Wilbur who had been standing at the doorway waiting to go inside. George grinned and waved at him, relaxing a bit after seeing a familiar face. At being mentioned, flame boy, Karl, and Clay directed their attention to George, and that second of relief was short lived.

"Georgenotfound!" Clay quipped with a broad smile. George noticed he was wearing the same piss-colored hoodie he had sported the previous day except it wasn't visibly dirty anymore.

George's smile dropped as he raised an unimpressed eyebrow at him, and yet somehow Clay only smiled wider.

"Uh dude. What? 'Georgenotfound'?" Flame boy asked, looking between the two in confusion. Karl wrapped an arm around the boy and lead him towards George's table, grinning widely.

"Sappitinus Nappitus, this is Georgie. Georgie, Sappy Nappy," Karl pointed between them as both boys looked at Karl unimpressed.

"It's George, actually. And he had gotten georgenotfound from my email," George said, feeling as though he was repeating himself at this point. 'Sappy Nappy' flashed him a smile.

"I'm Nick. My friends started calling me Sapnap, though, and Karl over here likes to get creative," he drawled, poking Karl's side which caused him to let out a squeak. "Feel free to call me Sapnap."

"Will do," George responded, just as the teacher called everyone to their seats. He watched as the people standing up moved to sit down, catching Wilbur's eye and exchanging a smile with him before he sat down near the front. Karl sat down in the table beside George again and Sapnap on Karl's other side. Apart from them, the faces in the classroom were all foreign to him, making him feel another wave of nerves.

Actually, scratch that. There was also Clay.

Clay sat down in the table beside Wilbur, next to one of the large windows in the classroom. George watched him whip out his phone under the table, probably hiding it from the teacher's eye, before he started texting someone. George mentally rolled his eyes at the sight and hid his amused smile with his hand before facing the front just as the teacher mentioned the student exchange program.

"As you all know, we have a student exchange program that will go on for the next six months. Some of our students are going to be studying abroad, and thus we have some students from England here with us today. I believe two of those students are in this class right now," she nodded towards Wilbur and then at George, who gave her an awkward wave, not knowing what else to do.

He felt multiple eyes on him, but the gaze he met was Clay's, who was no longer not-so-subtly staring at his phone. George raised an eyebrow at him only for Clay to mimic the little wave he had given the teacher except more exaggerated. George felt his face flush. Without thinking, he stuck his tongue out at him, a reaction Clay probably had not expect because he let out a snort he quickly covered with his hand. George broke into a grin he wasn't able to contain, making Clay's own smile broaden before they both turned back towards the front.

"You will probably be meeting the other exchange students in your next few periods or in between classes, so just remember to be nice and give them a warm welcome," the teacher finished before she turned back towards the board behind her, writing a list of page numbers. "Now, if everyone will please open your books to page 243."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Simpnap [09:08]

Claydohhh

Clay [09:08]

What's up

Simpnap [09:09]

how did you know georgenotfound?

Clay [09:10]

I went to the airport too remember

Simpnap [09:10]

oh shit trueeee

Clay [09:10]

You're so dumb lmao

Simpnap [09:13]

ayo ur kinda staring at him rn👀

Simpnap [09:15]

did u just make fun of his wave

Simpnap [09:15]

it was a very cute wave dont make fun of it

Clay [09:17]

Simp

Simpnap [09:17]

wha how

Simpnap [09:18]

ur the only man i simp for ;)

Clay [09:18]

I'm telling Karl

Simpnap [09:18]

wait shit thats true he exists

Simpnap [09:18]

noooo

Simpnap [09:19]

he will divorce me and i will cry

Clay [09:19]

Good.

Simpnap [09:19]

>:(

Clay [09:19]

>:)

Clay [09:20]

Wait dude can you do me a favor

Simpnap [09:20]

only if u dont divorce me n karl

Clay [09:20]

Fine

Clay [09:20]

Can you ask Karl what George's email is

Simpnap [09:21]

Like I know it's georgenotfound but the stuff after the @

Simpnap [09:21]

ok sure what for

Clay [09:22]

I have an idea

Clay [09:22]

Don't tell him I asked ok?

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Sapnap read the last text, curious as to what Clay was up to. He looked up at the teacher, thankful her back was still facing the class as she wrote something on the board. He turned towards Karl and reached over to tap his table a few times, getting his attention.

"What's George's email?" Sapnap whispered, just loud enough so only Karl would hear. Karl looked at him questioningly, so Sapnap quickly lied, "I want to send him the syllabus for each class in case he needs it."

"Georgenotfound@gmail.com," he cited, trying to be quiet but being a little louder than intended. Thankfully only a few students heard, glancing their way, none of which were George.

"Thanks. Love you," Sapnap winked as Karl giggled a bit, his hand coming up to cover his smile before turning back to the book in front of him. Sapnap glanced back at the teacher before turning towards his phone and sending Clay the email.

Sapnap [09:29]

georgenotfound@gmail.com

Claydoh🥵 [09:30]

Thank u!

Sapnap [09:30]

so what're u gonna do

Claydoh🥵 [09:30]

Secret ;)

Sapnap looked up at Clay, who glanced back to flash him a mischievous smile. He mouthed "bruh," to which Clay merely grinned innocently and batted his eyelashes at him before turning to the book he knew he wasn't going to read anyway. He rolled his eyes and turned towards his own book, not exactly reading it either.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The rest of George's day went more smoothly than expected. He had several classes with Tommy and Tubbo, though he had yet to meet who was the brave soul hosting the two of them together, and he had a few classes with Niki as well scattered throughout the day, but didn't meet who was hosting her either. Unfortunately, he only had homeroom with Wilbur, so the only other time he got to see him was during lunch when all the exchange students decided to eat together on the bleachers of the American football field. He would have to watch a game one day because he wasn't sure how American football worked. The only football he knew was the one where you kicked a ball into a goal.

He spent practically every other moment with Karl, and he was starting to get accustomed to his hyper-activity. He saw Sapnap a few times because of Karl and had a few classes with him, so he could see them potentially becoming friends. Several people went up to introduce themselves to him and welcome him, and some tried to make small talk despite George just wanting to avoid any more social interactions than he was already having to deal with, but he tried to be nice and humor them as much as he knew how. He had already forgotten most of their names and who was who anyway.

He didn't see Clay for the rest of the day.

Not that he wanted to see Clay, he was just becoming a semi-familiar face, and he really needed as many of those as he could get right now.

"How do you like the school so far, Georgie?" Karl spoke up next to him. George was pulled out of his thoughts before looking over at Karl, who was currently sitting in the driver's seat and absentmindedly tapping on the steering wheel, waiting for the light to turn green.

"It's not bad, I like it. And I had a good day, actually," he smiled over at him as the light finally turned green and the car started moving again. "Well, for the most part. I was a little overwhelmed with the amount of people that wanted to talk to me, but it wasn't terrible, I suppose."

"Ooooh, is Georgie popular already~?" Karl sing-songed, his eyes still on the road. "It's understandable, though. Anyone would want to talk to the cute British boy with the cute accent and the even cuter face."

George and Karl shared a knowing smile before they both burst into a fit of giggles.

"You think I'm cute?" George said in a joking voice, his voice pitching higher on purpose as he tucked nonexistent strands of hair behind his ear.

"Most definitely. The cutest in all the land," Karl declared with a wink, before they both started laughing again.

Once they got back to Karl's house, George plopped down on the bed Karl's mom had set up for him in Karl's room. He then whipped out his laptop to check for school assignments and emails.

George had several expectations when he signed up for the student exchange program that would have him abroad for six months. He expected the new faces, the foreign places and sports, even the different way of teaching.

What he didn't expect, however, was to receive an email from a stranger just two days in.

He looked at the email address.

"dreamwastaken@gmail.com"

Huh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so reformatting writing from Wattpad to here is actually so annoying, like I had to entirely change how I'm going to be writing the text messages which means I'll have to do the same for the emails and just. Ugh. It looks so much prettier on Wattpad.
> 
> Anyways, this was surprisingly fun to write, and I don't hate it (I usually hate my writing so that's a nice change of pace). Feel free to leave any ideas I can include or theories as to what's going to happen next ;) 
> 
> Also, I am thinking of having an upload schedule just to keep things consistent. I will let you guys know in the next update what I decide. 
> 
> Love every single person reading this! Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George and the mysterious stranger email back and forth.

George stared at the un-open email from the unknown recipient. He didn't use his email on too many websites, so he wasn't constantly spammed like other people, thus emails becoming more of a rarity and either were from school or from his friends messing around.

Maybe this was another prank from one of his friends back in England?

George was practically convinced this was true as he opened the email that conveniently had no subject either. He began reading, becoming more confused with every line.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Greetings georgenotfound,

Thank you so much for making time out of your day to read this. I am emailing you in regards of your first day at the school you will be attending for the next six months here in the States. How was it? Did you feel welcomed? Threatened? Like eating cat shit would be a more adequate pastime than listening to Mrs. Saenz drone on and on about why the government here is currently a dumpster fire? Do you feel accepted, or do you wish someone would yeet you back to your home country? Please let me know, in excruciating detail, your experience. I will be waiting for your response.

Warm regards,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George read and reread the email, flabbergasted. This had to be a joke, and he had no doubt now that it was one of his buddies back home trying to act smart and mess with him and make him talk about his experience in the United States so far. With that in mind, he began typing out a response.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

who are you

Reply Forward

He was already certain it was one of his friends, but he decided to play into their little game for now. He didn't even have to wait that long to get a response.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Straight to the point. I like it. But you did not answer my question.

Waiting for your response,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George stared at the email. He was stubborn to a fault, so he quickly typed his reply.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

I won't answer your question until you tell me who you are. For all I know, you could be a 50 year old man with a beer belly trying to kidnap me and force me to drink expired milk

also why are you emailing so formally

Reply Forward

Another quick email back.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Unfortunately, I cannot reveal who I am yet. I can assure you, though, that I am not a 50 year old man with a beer belly trying to kidnap you and force you to drink expired milk. That is absolutely disgusting. Who does that.

I can, however, reveal that I am from the school you are currently attending. I have yet to speak to you, but I have watched you from afar. That sounds stalkery, I apologize, I am not a stalker. Do not call the cops.

Still waiting for your response,  
Dream  
P.S. I am emailing formally because I am actually getting educated when I go to school.

Reply Forward

George read the email, unimpressed. He knew the person behind the email was lying, so he emailed them back with the following.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

if you're from this school, describe the place, in detail, even things nobody can know from just looking up the place online

Reply Forward

George sat back, smiling smugly and satisfied with himself. He knew this would stump the person and they would finally reveal themselves. They would have a laugh over their failed attempt to mess with him, and George would be able to go on with his night.

The person was taking longer to respond, so he slid off the bed to go downstairs to the kitchen, where Karl's mom was cooking and Karl was helping out.

"Hey, Georgie!" Karl grinned from where he was getting the silverware and plates ready with food. George said hello to him and Karl's mom, who gave him a sweet smile and a warm hello. Sean, Karl's brother, was half leaning on the kitchen island, watching them cook with a watery mouth, and briefly glanced his way to wave animatedly at him.

"Food will be ready in a bit, I'll call you over when it's ready," Karl's mom said before coming up to George and lightly pushing him out of the kitchen. George chuckled and let himself be walked out before making his way back up the stairs to Karl's bedroom.

To pass the time, he started unpacking more of his things. About an hour passed before his curiosity got the best of him.

A new email was waiting for him when he opened up his laptop again.

George had a triumphant grin when he opened it, one that immediately dropped as he read the email.

It contained a detailed description of the school, and although he had only the memories of the day to base it off of he knew it was accurate. There were descriptions of where most kids hung out, and what people did where, and even more crazy specific details that made it clear the person that had emailed him had not been lying.

It was definitely not his friends from England, he knew that now.

But then, who?

George racked his brain, thinking of every person who could have known his email. Karl knew his email, but he had been in the kitchen the entire time and wouldn't have had the time to send all of these emails. Sapnap and Clay vaguely knew about his email, but the person had said they had yet to talk to him. They could be lying, but they didn't lie about being from school so it was possible that wasn't a lie, either. That would also rule out the people that approached him today, and people have ways to get other's emails, which meant he truly had no idea who was behind it.

It made him feel a bit better that he knew, for sure, that they were at least a student.

Wait. Unless. Oh god.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

please tell me you're a student from school and not a creepy janitor or teacher that happens to know everything students do somehow because they're a creepy middle aged pedo stalker

Reply Forward

It was possible okay.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

I can assure you, I am not a creepy janitor or teacher that happens to know everything students do somehow because they're a creepy middle aged pedo stalker. I am a student. I have no way of proving this to you, so you'll just have to be believe me.

Just reminding you you have yet to respond to the question from my first email,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George decided to believe them.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

I will believe you. for now.

one last question, how did you get my email?

Reply Forward

The reply came in fast as if they had prepared for this question.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

I asked a teacher for your email to be able to contact you. He was so happy I was attempting to reach out to you that he didn't even ask what for.

Answer the question please I'm tired and want to go to bed soon,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George didn't realize he had started smiling after reading the last bit. He sent them an email teasing them about how lame it was to have an early bed time, which made him receive an email defending their sleep schedule in return.

And another reminder to answer the first question they had asked.

George sighed and gave in, giving the person a short description about his day. He explained how he enjoyed it overall but felt a bit overwhelmed with the amount of people that had wanted to speak to him. He sent the email and waited.

Several minutes later, he got his response.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Thanks George. Glad you had a good day, and don't worry, that much attention would overwhelm anyone.

Can I email you again sometime?

I'm going to bed soon I don't care screw you,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George would die before he admitted he was full on smiling like an idiot at this point.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

I said I would trust you for now, so I'll give you three chances to mess up tops before you lose that trust

Reply Forward

A response a minute later.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Dear georgenotfound,

I accept those conditions. I will prove to you I am trustworthy, George, just you wait.

3 strikes and I'm out,  
Dream

Reply Forward

"Hey Georgie, watchu looking at?" Karl called from the doorway, making George startle as though he was caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

"Oh, just..." George glanced at his open laptop before slowly closing it, letting out an awkward laugh. "Just chatting with my friends from England on Discord."

"Aw, I bet they miss you. Well, food is ready so c'mon Georgie," Karl grabbed hold of George's arm and began dragging him out of the room. George glanced back one last time at his laptop before biting back a smile.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"By the way, has anyone sent you the syllabuses for each class yet?" Karl asked George as they walked towards the kitchen.

"No, actually."

Weird, Karl thought. Wasn't Sapnap going to send it to him?

Karl was about to ask George if Sapnap emailed him at all, but the aroma coming from the food in the kitchen made the issue seem less urgent at the moment.

He would just remember to ask Sapnap about it tomorrow. Knowing him, he had probably forgotten.

Karl chuckled to himself as a fond smile made its way onto his face.

That's probably it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am enjoying writing this a bit too much, especially the emails between George and the mysterious stranger ;)
> 
> I have decided I will keep my upload schedule rather loose, so I will for sure update once a week but depending on my productivity there may be more updates in between that time period. So some days I might be updating back to back, but another it will be a week until the next update. I will try to keep it to 7 days latest for uploads!
> 
> Thanks for reading! Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay has a bad night, and an even worse day to follow it.

Clay lurched up to a sitting position, feeling the uncomfortable sweat making his bangs stick to his forehead and his black tank top stick to his body. He kicked the blankets off of him, curling in on himself as he attempted to get his breathing back under control.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Repeat.

After a few minutes, he felt himself finally beginning to calm down. He dared not close his eyes for too long to avoid falling back into the nightmare that had been terrorizing him for months.

He needed to distract himself.

He looked around his bedroom that he maintained as tidy as possible majority of the time. It was dark out, the stars were out but not entirely visible, and the moon's light coming in through his large window created weird shadows around the room.

He heard someone stir in another room, followed by the creak of a bed and a soft pattering of footsteps getting closer to his room, one step noticeably louder than the other. A rather tall girl for her age appeared at his doorway, seeing Clay sitting up in bed, clearly awake.

She had shoulder length dirty blonde hair and bangs, as well as Clay's same green eyes and freckled face. She tugged on the baggy shirt she was sleeping in as she neared Clay's bed.

"Clay," she whispered softly. Clay looked at her with a soft gaze before patting the empty spot beside him. The girl didn't hesitate to climb in bed with him, struggling a bit at first before sitting shoulder to shoulder beside him.

"Why're you up, Drista?" Clay whispered after a moment of silence, looking down at his little sister, knowing the answer already. She scrunched up her nose and flicked his cheek.

"When are you going to stop calling me that," she hissed back, making Clay crack a smile.

"Never."

"You already know why I'm up."

"You need to sleep."

"But you had the nightmare again. I can't leave."

Clay looked down at his sister who was staring up at him with calculating eyes. Eyes that were so much like his own it freaked him out sometimes.

He ruffled Drista's hair, who let out a huff in protest but didn't move his hand away.

"Get some sleep. I'm fine now," he insisted, before lightly shoving her towards the corner of the bed. She finally gave up protesting and climbed off, heading back to walk out of Clay's bedroom. She peered back at him, the shadows and lighting of the room making her face look a little funny.

"It wasn't your fault, you know," Drista whispered. Clay felt his heart sink and his throat close up.

"Good night, Drista," he barely managed to choke out, his voice wavering. Thankfully, Drista didn't call attention to it.

"...night, Clay."

Clay watched Drista walk back towards her room, his eyes falling to the prosthetic replacing the place where her left leg used to be.

Clay didn't get much sleep that night.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Hey Tubbo, why can't dinosaurs clap with their hands?"

"Ooh, I know this one!" Tubbo said gleefully, skipping circles around Tommy. "Because their hands are too-"

"No."

"Wait, I haven't finished answeri-"

"Cause they're all dead, Tubbo."

Tubbo came to a dead stop beside Tommy, his face dropping and his posture sagging. "Oh."

George watched as Wilbur lightly smacked Tommy upside the head as the group continued walking towards the bleachers next to the football field where they would spend their lunch period again.

"That was actually really sad," Niki remarked quietly, referring to the joke Tommy had made.

"It truly, truly is," Tubbo agreed solemnly.

As they neared the bleachers, George noticed there were people on the field this time. They were wearing jerseys over what appeared to be some sort of shoulder pads, and helmets over their heads.

"Who the fuck sat on that ball," Tommy blurted out, making everyone direct their gaze to the ball soaring through the air. Wilbur burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he bent over slightly from the force of the laughter rolling out of him.

"It looks like some sort of large, brown egg. Do you think it could fit in my mouth," Tubbo added. Wilbur's laughter only got worse and Niki started giggling as well.

"Let's go sit down," George reminded them despite the amused grin on his face. They all sat on the bleachers, watching the players run around the field.

"Why do they have practice during lunch," Tommy questioned, earning a shrug from Tubbo.

"They kick the ball once and then never kick it again, I think. I don't understand why now they're just throwing it and running around with it, it's like the opposite of actual football," Tubbo waved his arms around at the field, as if asking the universe what the hell was this.

"Americans, man. They don't make sense. They got everything backwards and shit," Tommy concluded before pulling out a ziplock bag from his backpack. "Time to eat a healthy meal."

"Are those gummy bears wrapped in a fruit roll up," Wilbur cringed, watching as Tommy took a bite out of the sugary monstrosity.

"Indeed."

"I pity your dentist," George commented, eyeing the candy burrito warily.

"I don't have one."

Tubbo let out a loud laugh at that, falling backwards in the bleachers and getting stuck in the dip where the legs of the person above you are supposed to be placed. Tommy began cackling himself at the sight.

George continued watching the players run about the field, not exactly understanding how the sport worked but unable to look away nonetheless. They all ate their lunch while watching the football team practice, engaging in random conversation or criticizing the American sport.

He watched as one player ran into the one holding the ball by digging his knee and leg into the other player's left leg, making them both fall forward and for the person holding the ball to accidentally release it.

Someone yelled fumble as a third player dived for the ball and secured it. The two that were on the floor got up before the one that had been tackled shoved the guy that had tackled him.

"What the fuck was that, Vincent," the guy yelled, loud enough that even George was able to hear all the way over at the bleachers. The other guy seemed at a loss, lifting his hands in surrender and probably trying to talk him down. He seemed to have a heavy, French accent from the little he managed to hear.

"What's going on here," an older man, most probably the coach, approached the two.

"That was an illegal tackle, that's what's going on. Vincent here used his legs like a fucking moron!"

"Clay, you need to calm down, son," the coach ordered. George perked up at the name, as did Wilbur, who was now watching intently as well.

"I'm absolutely fucking peachy!" Clay yelled, yanking the helmet off of his head before throwing it to the ground, making it bounce beside his leg before he began storming away.

"Clay!" the coach and several people called after him. George bit his lip in worry as he watched two players go after him. He turned towards Wilbur, who was watching Clay's retreating figure as well.

"What was that about?" George asked.

"I don't know. He was up pretty late last night, I heard him talking with one of his sisters," Wilbur shrugged, crossing his arms. "I'm a really light sleeper and the walls between his room and the one I'm staying in are practically paper thin. He was having trouble sleeping."

Wilbur looked like he was going to say more before he stopped himself, looking back towards the way Clay had gone. It was clear he heard something more, but wouldn't say. George decided not to pry and instead worried his lip between his teeth.

"That was the person hosting you, correct?" Tubbo asked. Wilbur nodded before moving to stand.

"I'm going to go check up on him. Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you don't know as much in comparison to someone you've know for years, so maybe I can help somehow..." he trailed off, not sounding certain in his own words but descended down the bleachers after Clay all the same. "Don't wait for me, I'll see you guys later."

"Poor Clay, I hope he's okay," Niki said, watching Wilbur begin to trot in that direction. George looked down at his hands, feeling useless.

He wished there was something he could do.

A silence fell amongst the four remaining.

"I made tea," Tubbo said suddenly. Everyone turned towards him, confused.

"Where did you get tea from?" Tommy asked.

"Oh no, I don't actually have tea, this is just a conversation starter."

"Then why did you say you made tea?" George asked now, still not understanding where this was going.

"It's a conversation starter."

"Well it's a horrible conversation starter," Tommy stated matter of factly, resting his chin on his palm. Tubbo crossed his arms, raising a defiant eyebrow at him.

"Oh, is it?"

"It is."

"But we're conversing."

"Tubbo I swear to prime."

"I think we should start heading back," Niki interjected. George agreed and the four of them got up and left the football field, walking back towards the campus.

Clay yelling and storming off would play on loop in George's head for the rest of the day.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay pocketed his phone, ignoring the texts and missed calls from Sapnap, Vincent, and others boys on the football team.

He had felt drained all day, and he wasn't even able to properly enjoy the sport he always loved playing. He had messed up in yelling at Vincent and getting heated over a small mistake, he knew that, but it had been building up the whole day and that moment was when he finally exploded.

He had stormed off of the field and towards his car, not caring he still had classes after his lunch period finished. He heard running behind him but he didn't look back, not even when Sapnap and someone else caught up to him and grabbed onto his shoulder, making him stop.

"Let go," Clay said with venom in his voice. He realized the person holding his shoulder was Dave, otherwise known by everyone as Technoblade. Techno's hair was plastering a bit to his forehead thanks to the sweat now that it had grown out more, and in the sunlight the blond of it almost looked like it had a tint of pink. He let go of his shoulder finally, but leveled Clay's glare with one of his own.

"Clay, you have to calm yourself," he stated firmly. Sapnap walked up beside him, looking at Clay with a more open and worried expression.

"Whatever," Clay replied lowly as he shoved past the two and continuing his march toward his car. Techno moved back in front of Clay, blocking his path with a cross of his arms.

"Anger doesn't solve anything, Clay. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything."

"I don't need your smartass quotes right now, Techno," Clay glared at him, daring Techno to block his path again. Techno stared back at him for a few seconds before sighing and stepping aside. Clay turned towards Sapnap next, leveling a glare at him as well.

"Clay, you know it was an accident. Vincent hadn't meant to, so you can't get mad at him for-"

Clay snapped.

"Shut the hell up, Nick! You have no right to tell me to act like the bigger person, not when we all know what you're really like!" Clay practically yelled at his face. Hurt flashed on Sapnap's face as he took a step back in surprise.

"Clay, that was years ago-"

"Yeah? Well, I doubt people can really change that much. So quit acting like such a good guy now and own up to your shit instead of acting like a hypocrite."

"Wha- Clay-" he heard Sapnap start as Clay stormed away, Techno cutting in saying, "Leave him, he needs to cool off right now" before they were both completely out of earshot.

He had reached his car and sat at the wheel, fully intending on starting the car and just go home when he heard a light tap on the window. He turned expecting to see Techno, Sapnap, or another player on the team, but was surprised to instead see Wilbur peering in.

Instead of getting annoyed like he thought he would, he unlocked the passenger door and watched out of the corner of his eye as Wilbur sat down beside him. The two remained in a tense silence, staring out the front window of the car, before Wilbur spoke up.

"We can go back to your house right now, if you want. It's up to you."

Clay felt himself deflate, as if a burden had been lifted off his shoulders. Wilbur wasn't going to ask about his outburst, which was obvious he had seen, and instead had given him the opportunity to go home.

For some reason, this reaction was what made him decide to stay.

"Let's get to class," Clay had said finally. He could see Wilbur smile out of the corner of his eye.

"You're the boss."

After that, the rest of the day went by in a blur. He payed less attention in class than usual, and avoided every one of his teammates as much as possible.

It was hard, but he managed to make it through the day without a confrontation.

That didn't stop them from blowing up his phone, though.

It was now after school hours and he was walking down the mostly empty halls to his homeroom class because he had been so out of it he left the textbook he needed in his desk. Wilbur had been nice enough to wait for him in his car.

Wilbur was a good guy.

He reached the classroom to find it was open and someone was inside. The person looked up at the sound of his footsteps, and Clay realized it was George.

"Georgenotfound," Clay said, trying to put on a smile and hoping it didn't look too forced. George eyed him, picking up the books he had probably been looking for.

"Hey."

The two stared at each other, the silence weighing heavy between them. Clay cleared his throat a bit and tried to let out a small laugh.

"I left my textbook in the classroom. I have been really out of it today," he explained in what he hoped came out as a lighthearted tone, making his way towards his desk.

"Karl left his textbooks, too, so I came by to pick them up for him."

"What are you, Karl's errand boy?" Clay joked. George shrugged.

"I offered. I needed to clear my head anyway."

"Oh."

A silence stretched between them, making George shift uncomfortably.

"Clay, are you..." George started, trailing off and biting his lip a bit. Clay cocked his head in question, urging George to continue. "Are you...okay?" Clay blinked at him before putting on a fake smile.

"What do you mean, of course I'm okay," Clay laughed awkwardly, grabbing the textbook he needed. George's eyebrows furrowed, seeming unconvinced.

"I was at the bleachers, next to the football field. During lunch," George added. This made Clay freeze, feeling his heart stop. "I saw when you...you know."

Clay's stomach twisted uncomfortably.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Clay felt his heartbeat drumming in his ears and his breathing begin to quicken, and he was about to blurt out that he had to go, Wilbur was waiting for him, when George dropped the books back onto the table, took the steps needed to close the distance between them, and reached up to wrap his arms around the back of Clay's neck.

It took a second for Clay's mind to catch up with his body, and he realized George was hugging him.

"George-" Clay blurted out, surprised at the sudden contact.

"Shut up, Clay."

Clay stood in shock for a few more seconds before hesitantly lifting his arms and wrapping them around George's middle. He squeezed George tighter, bending down a bit to burrow his head into the other boy's shoulder.

He hadn't even noticed he had started shaking, or when hot tears had started running down his face. He sobbed into George's shoulder, the other rubbing comforting circles into his back.

The thoughts he had been trying to keep at bay all day long began flooding in.

He thought of his outburst during lunch. How he hadn't been able to sleep because of the nightmare he could not stop having.

He thought of his sister.

And how despite what she insisted, he knew it had been his fault.

But instead of these thoughts weighing down on him like usual, he felt a small sense of relief now that he had finally allowed himself to think about them at all.

And that was enough for now.

He didn't know how much time went by, but he eventually calmed down and loosened his hold on George, who released him from the hug. The two broke apart, Clay looking down to meet hazel brown eyes gazing up into his own.

Clay snorted, then fell into a fit of giggles, growing into full blown laughter upon seeing George's confused expression.

"George, were you standing on your tippy toes?" he wheezed out between rounds of laughter, and began wheezing harder as George's face flushed in embarrassment.

"Shut. Up," George huffed, punching his shoulder lightly as Clay continued to wheeze like a tea kettle.

"You're so cu-" he cut himself off with more laughter, a pouting George not making it easier for him to stop.

"You're so annoying. And your face is all wet and gross," George said as he reached up and used the sleeve of his blue sweater to wipe away the tears still on his cheeks. Clay froze, finally sobering up from the laugh attack, and George's eyes widened as he realized his own actions. He pulled his hand away as if burned.

"Er, sorry. That was weird wasn't it."

Clay grinned down at him, using his own hands to wipe the rest of the wetness off his cheeks. "It's okay, this whole situation is a little weird. But it's not a bad weird."

"I guess," George agreed, taking a step away from Clay.

"So, what was that about, georgenotfound?"

"What was what about."

"The hug?"

"Oh." George reached up to scratch the back of his neck, his other shoulder shrugging a bit. "You just looked like you needed one."

"Do you hug everyone that looks like they need one?" Clay teased. George pouted a bit, looking away.

"Not exactly. I don't know."

Clay looked at George in silence for a few seconds, before a small smile made it's way onto his lips. "I think I did need one. Thanks, George."

George considered him for a few seconds and, after realizing that his response was genuine, responded with, "Sure. It's no big deal." Clay smiled.

"But next time, don't make a move so fast. At least take me out to dinner first, like come on," Clay smirked, before dissolving into another fit of laughter when George groaned and began walking away from him, collecting Karl's books and walking to the classroom door.

"Goodbye, Clay," George glanced back from the doorway, throwing the smallest of smiles his way. Clay's own smile broadened as he mimicked George's wave from the day before, except more exaggerated, making George stick his tongue out at him again before turning back around to walk away.

"Goodbye, georgenotfound!" he yelled after him between laughter, wheezing harder when he heard a distant "It's George!"

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Hey georgenotfound,

How was your day?

Feeling sleepy,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

it could've been better, but the day really looked up at the end

go to sleep!

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

I'm happy to hear that at least the end of your day went well. I had a very pleasant end of day myself.

Going mimis now,  
Dream

Reply Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll should check out my Wattpad version of this story. I have music that goes with the story and it's formatted so much prettier.
> 
> This chapter became longer than originally intended. Oops.
> 
> As always, feel free to give me ideas in the comments or leave theories as to what you think will happen next!  
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3 
> 
> Love you guys!
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay apologizes for being an asshole.

"Heya Gogy!"

"Gogy-?"

Sapnap slammed his hands onto George's table, grinning widely at him. He ignored that this action practically made George jump sky high.

"Wanna be partners, Gogy?"

George eyed him warily, a confused smile stretching his lips.

"But why are you calling me 'Gogy?'" George asked, to which Sapnap smiled widely.

"It's like Georgie but shortened! Gogy!"

"You took a lot of letters out of there."

"I sure did," Sapnap winked, pulling up a chair to his table. George raised an eyebrow, his lips tugging upwards.

"Oookayyyy," he drawled as the teacher began pairing up students that couldn't find a partner for the project.

At least this way he didn't have to worry about being paired up with a stranger, he supposed.

"What did I miss?" Karl appeared back at their side since he had left for several minutes to use the restroom.

"Karl, do you have a partner yet?" the teacher asked, to which Karl nodded.

"I sure do! I'm going to be partners with Georgie!"

"Hey, no, I'm already partners with Gogy."

"Wha-" Karl whipped around to face Sapnap, looking both surprised and offended. "No, I am!"

"I already asked him and he agreed. You snooze you loose, Karl."

"That's not fair, I was in the restroom! And we are living under the same roof!" Karl pointed between himself and George, as if to emphasize his point. Sapnap opened his mouth so say something else when the teacher interrupted him.

"There is an odd number of students in this class, so I will allow the three of you to work together."

"Really?!" Karl and Sapnap yelped at the same time. When the teacher nodded, they looked at each other and smiled wide, then directed that same smile at George, looking about ready to burst with excitement.

"We're going to be the three musketeers!" Sapnap cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"Yeah! The holy trinity!" Karl added, mimicking Sapnap's action.

"The triple threat!"

"Los tres amigos!"

"Three peas in a pod!"

"Alvin and the chipmunks!"

"A threesome!"

"Woah, now," George cut in, his hands flying up in surrender, causing Sapnap and Karl to burst into a fit of giggles.

"What topic do you want to research for the speech project? Something we can come up with in a week," Karl asked. Sapnap hummed, and the two continued discussing the project as George tuned them out, glancing over at Tommy and Tubbo on the other side of the classroom. They were clearly going to pair up with each other, but were already bickering over their research topic.

"All I'm saying is how funny would it be to make a speech about e-girls."

"But I don't want to have to do research on e-girls, that's boring."

"Then what do you suggest we do, Tubbo."

"Well, Tommy, how about instead of e-girls or even e-boys we decide to talk about the e-conomy."

"No, Tubbo-"

"Capitalism is a fundamentally flawed system-"

George shook his head and turned his attention back to the two in front of him.

"So basically we're going to talk about pussy."

George choked on his own spit before beginning to cough violently, his eyes wild and wide as they flicked between looking at Sapnap and Karl, who had begun cackling like lunatics.

"You can't say that out of context, Sap!" Karl laughed behind the hand covering his mouth.

"My bad, my bad," Sapnap laughed as Karl lightly shoved his shoulder.

"What," George choked out once he was barely able to, his shoulders still shaking as the coughing ensued.

"Breathe, Georgie, breathe."

"You okay, Gogy?"

"See Sapnap, you use the word pussy once and make George choke to death."

"Karl, language!" someone yelped.

"Sapnap said it first!"

"Sapnap, language!"

George covered his face with his hands, the coughs finally dying down but his face now flushing in embarrassment.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, rubbing at his eyes that had started to water from the coughing. He finally looked towards the voice, as said person had waltzed up next to them and was giving Sapnap and Karl a disappointed look.

He wore glasses and a black hoodie with the hood pulled over his head, covering his light brown hair and casting a shadow over his face, making him look a little intimidating. The boy turned towards George causing him to flinch, but was surprised when the boy's glare immediately softened and a smile replaced his frown.

"Oh, hey! You're George, right?"

"Y-Yeah," George responded, put off by the sudden shift. He couldn't tell if the boy was intimidating or almost inviting to him now.

"I'm Darryl, it's nice to finally meet you properly. Tommy and Tubbo told me a lot about you. I'm the person hosting them, by the way," Darryl gave him a friendly smile, making George question how he could have ever thought this guy was intimidating.

"He actually goes by 'Badboyhalo,'" someone snickered, coming up beside Darryl. The boy had on a blue hoodie (what was with Americans and hoodies) with a derpy face in the center of it, his dark brown hair spiked up messily. Darryl made an offended noise, pouting.

"That's just my gamer tag. I don't go around telling people to call me Badboyhalo," he huffed, the other boy smiling slyly at him.

"Whatever you say, Bad," he snickered before turning towards George. "Just call him Bad, most people do. I'm Zak by the way."

"He's actually Skeppy," Bad interjected, yelping when Skeppy poked his side. "You told him my nickname, it's only fair!"

The two boys started bickering as George turned back to face Sapnap, who was smiling at him apologetically.

"Sorry about startling you earlier Gogy, we were just saying that we should make our speech topic about felines."

"Yeah, because cats are cool and superior in every way!" Karl agreed.

"So true."

"So earlier you guys were talking about...cats?" George stated more than asked, leveling them with a tired look, making both boys grin cheekily at him.

"Meow," Sapnap and Karl said at the same time. "Jinx!" they both yelled, before bursting into laughter at how in sync they had sounded. George rolled his eyes at them but felt himself smiling nonetheless.

Something told George moments would never be dull with those two.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The second the bell rang, Clay booked it directly towards the library. The hallways of the school were filled with students meeting up with friends for lunch, and several times people said hi to him or tried to get his attention as he made his way through the crowds. He felt bad he barely stopped to say hi back, but his focus was trained on his destination.

He finally made it to the library, opening the double doors and walking inside. There were a few students scattered in there, but the place was empty for the most part and relatively quiet. He walked towards the back where Clay knew he would find who he was looking for.

"Hey, Techno," he said just barely above a whisper, making Techno look up from his laptop and at Clay. He removed his headphones, moving them off his head to his neck, his eyes scanning Clay's face as if checking to see if he was still angry.

"Clay. Hello," he responded simply. Clay moved to his side, pulling up a chair beside him before sighing.

"Look dude, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was really rude even though you were just trying to help." He met Techno's calculating gaze, before looking away again. He felt a light pat on his shoulder before Techno turned back to his laptop.

"Don't sweat it. Happens to the best of us," Techno responded simply, Clay knowing this was his way of saying he had forgiven him already. Clay let out a sigh of relief and smiled, patting Techno's back a bit before getting back up. He said bye to him before walking back out of the library.

He was pulling out his phone to text Sapnap and ask him where he was when said person walked through the library double doors. He stopped walking when the two made eye contact, and that's when Clay noticed he was accompanied by Karl and George.

"Oh! Hey, Clay, I haven't seen you all day," Karl greeted him with a smile, but it dropped when he saw the looks on Clay and Sapnap's face. He looked between the two questioningly, clearly oblivious to the events from the day before.

Clay met George's gaze. He was looking at him with furrowed brows, worrying his lip between his teeth.

Clay had woken up late and missed homeroom, which meant he hadn't seen George since the moment they had shared after school the day before.

"Nick, can I talk to you?" Clay turned his attention back to Sapnap, who met his gaze hesitantly. "Please?"

He shrugged, following Clay out the door and leaving both Karl and George back inside the library to give themselves more privacy.

"What's up," Sapnap asked, looking anywhere but at Clay. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead placed both of his hands on either of his shoulders, forcing Sapnap to finally meet his gaze.

"I'm so so sorry about yesterday. I said some terrible things, and that wasn't fair to you. I wasn't having the best day and I took it out on you, but that's no excuse. The stuff I said...I crossed several lines," Clay winced at the reminder of the terrible things he had said to Sapnap in the midst of his tantrum. "I didn't mean that. I know you've changed, and you're not the same person you were in middle school. You're one of my bestest friends, Sapnap. And I love you."

Sapnap tilted his head a bit to the side, a small smile finally making its way onto his face, lighting it up beautifully.

"I love you too, Clay, and I forgive you," he grinned, Clay smiling back in relief. Sapnap laughed a bit, extending his arms and saying, "Come here, you. Where's my hug at."

Clay let out a laugh as he brought Sapnap in for a hug. They broke apart a few seconds later, the tension between them evaporated.

"And to be fair, I was a little shit in middle school," Sapnap admitted, shrugging as if saying "it is what it is."

"You kind of were, huh," Clay teased as the other rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah. I bullied the hell out of you for being absolutely terrible at basketball."

"Oh come on now, I wasn't that bad," Clay complained as they began walking back towards the library.

"Dude, you're like 6 foot, how do you manage to suck that bad at a sport practically made for tall people."

Clay let out a surprised laugh and bumped his shoulder against Sapnap's, who returned the gesture. They found Karl and George, Karl excitedly pointing at something inside one of the books George was holding open. They both looked up and tensed when they saw Clay and Sapnap walking towards them but relaxed again when they noticed that both boys were smiling.

"So you guys kissed and made up?" Karl whisper-shouted while wiggling his eyebrows, making Sapnap snicker.

"You can say that," Clay said, exchanging a sly smile with Sapnap before they both chuckled.

Clay glanced at George, who had been staring at him but quickly looked down and pretended to be looking at the book in his hands, making Clay put on an amused smile at his reaction.

"Have you spoken to Vincent yet?" Sapnap asked. Clay nodded.

"I ran into him this morning when I was late for class. I apologized to him, and we're cool now. And I talked to Techno right before running into you," Clay grinned. Sapnap smiled back, patting his back in an exaggerated manner.

"Good boy, Claydoh."

"Oh my lord stop."

"Oh, Clay! We're going to my house after school to start on our speech project, cause we got partnered up for it and my mom is going to be out of town for the next couple of days because of a business trip," Karl explained. The librarian came around the corner and told them to keep it down, to which Karl apologized profusely.

"The three of you?" Clay asked once she was gone, and Karl nodded in response, whispering, "Yeah, you should come too! I'm inviting a few other people, we can all hang!"

"Wait, since when were we inviting 'a few other people,'" George asked with wide eyes. "Aren't we just working on the project?"

"Yeah, no, George, when Karl says 'small homework hangout', he really means 'huge party at my place let's get lit,'" Sapnap explained.

"Trueeeee," Karl grinned, high-fiving Sapnap just as the librarian passed by again and told them to keep it down once more. Clay had to try extra hard not to burst out laughing at the absolutely petrified look George was sporting.

"Don't worry, George, you can work on the project another day, it won't kill you," Clay teased, to which George huffed an "I know that" in response.

"Tonight is going to be so fun!" Karl squealed happily, only for the librarian to come back and kick the four of them out of the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand we're finally caught up with the Wattpad updates. Future updates to come, and again, if you want to read the updates sooner, I would recommend following this book on Wattpad where I will always update first! It's under the same name, "Love, Dream // DNF" and I use the same username, "kirbakii"
> 
> I really do be speedrunning these updates, damn. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party arc (1/3)

"Bye mom!"

"Goodbye, Miss Jacobs."

"Bye boys, please take care of the house for me while I'm gone. You know the rules Karl, no funny business. Take care of your brother, and George," Karl's mom turned towards George, smiling knowingly as she began walking out the door, a suitcase trailing behind her. "You're in charge. Don't let Karl or Sean get into any trouble."

"Moooom!" Karl whined as his mother giggled while closing the door behind her. George glanced over at Karl, who was pouting and staring at where his mom had just left.

"Since I'm in charge, does this mean I can technically forbid you from having the party tonight?" George asked half seriously, making Karl turn towards him and put on a wide grin, an almost evil glint in his eyes.

"Nope," Karl lightly patted George's cheek before cackling as he walked away to begin preparations for the party. George sighed.

Oh boy.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Good afternoon georgenotfound,

I heard Karl is going to be having a party at his house. He's the person hosting you, correct? That must mean you had no choice but to attend. Are you prepared for the party? Type 1 if you need me to send help asap.

Sincerely,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

1

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

An ambulance is on stand by in case you end up dying. But cheer up, you'll have fun, I'm sure! Karl's parties are always a blast in my unbiased opinion.

Cheering for you,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

are you going to be at the party?

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Maybe, maybe not. Guess you'll never know~

Email you later,  
Dream

P.S. Don't try to figure out who I am and just enjoy the party! It'll be fun, promise.

Reply Forward

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George was still in Karl's room even after he heard the guests begin to arrive and music start to blast downstairs.

He was not hiding.

He wasn't.

...

George was totally hiding.

He let out an embarrassingly high pitched screech when Karl's door suddenly swung open, letting the loud chatter and even louder music pour into the room. He toppled out of his bed, staring at the person that had scared the life out of him and was currently laughing at his reaction.

"Big mannnn," Tommy grinned widely after settling down from his laugh attack, inviting himself into the room. "Or should I say short man," he laughed as he gestured with his hand George's short stature. George glared at the taller boy, getting up from the floor.

"Tommy, what the hell?"

"George, what're you doing in here?" Tubbo appeared at the doorway behind him, peering in and looking around Karl's room that George was currently staying in as well. "There's a party going on!"

"You heard Big T, let's go George," Tommy hauled George to his feet against his will.

"What're you two even doing here?" George asked, looking at the two boys who grinned widely at each other and then at George.

"Badboyhalo is friends with Karl, so naturally we got an automatic invite because he thinks we are awesome," Tommy explained, smiling proudly. Tubbo nodded furiously next to him, jumping up and down a bit.

"There's so many people, George, the house is practically packed to the brim. It's like the whole school out there. Karl is really popular," Tubbo noted, making George swallow roughly. He had assumed there would be just a few more people besides those he had met, not the whole school.

"Tubbo, we're trying to lure him out, not scare him into further seclusion," Tommy scolded as Tubbo smiled sheepishly and apologized.

"This house is crazy ginormous- oh."

George glanced at the door to see a girl passing by, pausing to peer into the room when she noticed the three boys.

"Hey, do any of you know where the restroom is?" the girl asked. She had short, brown hair that faded into blonde highlights, curls cascading to just above her shoulders. She was wearing a short, white party dress, and a necklace with three white pearls.

She's cute, George thought distantly.

"Um, yeah, the restrooms are just down the hall, to your left," George answered quickly before clearing his throat when he noticed Tommy, Tubbo, and the girl were now staring at him. The girl's lips lifted a bit as she eyed the three of them, her eyes coming back to land on George.

"I don't recognize you three. Are you guys exchange students?" she asked, her gaze mostly trained on George.

"We unfortunately are. And all I've learned so far is that England is by far superior than America in every way possible," Tommy declared as Tubbo nodded in agreement. The girl let out a chuckle, her hair bouncing a bit as she laughed.

"You're not wrong. America does suck," she agreed before turning back to George and mostly addressing him. "I'm Maia by the way."

"I'm Tommy."

"I'm Toby, but everyone calls me Tubbo."

Maia was staring at George, an amused smile on her face as she lifted an eyebrow at him. "And you are...?"

"George," he blurted out quickly, his voice cracking a bit at the end. Maia giggled, so he cleared his throat and tried again. "Um, I'm George. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," she grinned, her eyes sparkling in amusement. George felt Tommy rest his arm over his head, leaning his weight on him.

"Ignore my buddy George, over here. He's kind of antisocial. He doesn't know how to speak to women."

"Tommy-" George yelped, his face becoming warm as he tried to swat Tommy away.

"I, on the other hand, am incredibly good at talking to women. I would date so many women if I wasn't already married to the grind."

"Tommy just stop talking," George slapped a hand over the boy's mouth as Tubbo and Maia began laughing at the two. Tommy licked his hand, making George yelp and let go, screeching, "Tommy, that is disgusting!"

Maia was clutching her stomach at this point, wiping tears from her eyes that were beginning to collect from laughing so hard. "You British boys sure are something."

"George is usually a lot more suave I swear," Tubbo added, not helping. Maia found that hilarious, though, as she threw her head back and laughed again.

"Okay I'm going to go before I pee myself," she laughed, and George felt his lips curl up at her lack of filter. "See you guys around. And welcome to the States and all of that."

Tubbo and Tommy let out a chorus of goodbyes as the girl waved, walking away. George waved a bit just before she was completely gone and down the hall. He stood there, kind of dumb founded, before Tommy started aggressively waving a hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Gogy, does he copy?" he joked, making George snap out of it and roll his eyes at the boy.

"I'm out of here," he finally decided, walking out of the room with newfound courage to encounter the party going on in full swing downstairs. Tubbo let out a whoop as they trailed behind him before Tubbo and Tommy raced down the stairs, just nearly avoiding tripping.

They weren't kidding when they said the whole school had come.

He gaped at the crowds just filling up the living room. Karl's house was huge, but it seemed so much smaller with the amount of people present. The music was still blasting all around him, the crowd moving around and bopping along to it at uncoordinated times. He was starting to regret going down when someone practically jumped on his back, hooking an arm around his neck.

"Gogyyyyy~!" Sapnap sang in a horrible British accent. George noticed a red cup in his free hand, the liquid sloshing around.

"Is that alcohol?" he yelped as Sapnap hummed, swaying a bit and leaning his weight onto George. He was clearly wasted, his cheeks tinted a rosy pink.

"Mmmm, maybe. Dependson who's askin'. Wannsum?" his words slurred together as he laughed heartily and pushed the cup up to George's nose. The smell of alcohol was strong so he hastily pushed it away.

"I'm good," he said quickly. Sapnap shrugged and said "If you say so," his words jumbling together as he let out another laugh and waltzed away, yelling at someone about beer pong.

George stood still for a few seconds, people bumping into him as they attempted to move past him. It was obvious a lot of kids were either drunk or high, as he began attempting to make his way through the crowd. He was looking around for a familiar face in the sea of strangers when he heard someone yell:

"Clay is here!"

Cheering erupted, and George turned towards the front door where Clay had just walked in, Wilbur towering behind him. While Wilbur was looking around with wide, confused eyes at the crowd cheering for Clay, the other boy was laughing and waving like he had just won an Oscar, saying hi to people and beginning to make his way through the crowd towards George's direction.

George was about to make his escape before he could be noticed when he caught Clay's eye. Clay smiled boyishly at him, waving and now booking it directly towards George who seriously considered just turning around and running the opposite direction despite the crowd of people surrounding him.

"Georgenotfound!" Clay yelled over the noise around them as he finally neared George. George lost sight of Wilbur and began to tense up as Clay got closer. Due to the tight crowd, the two boys were practically a few inches away from being chest to chest. He was wearing the same piss colored hoodie he had been wearing the first day he crashed into him as well as the first day of school with black, ripped skinny jeans, and white, goggle looking shades perched on top of his messy, dirty blond hair. George smiled nervously at the sudden close distance, needing to look up to see the taller boy's face.

"Uh, hey."

"So? How are you enjoying the party?" Clay leaned down before he spoke, his face coming down to rest besides George's in order to talk directly into his ear. George knew it was so Clay wouldn't need to be yelling, but he still felt himself shiver at Clay's breath fanning his ear.

"It's...loud," George said bluntly, with lack of a better word to describe the happenings around him. Clay threw his head back in a laugh, allowing George to relax a bit at the few seconds of personal space that the movement gave him. It was short lived, though, as Clay neared closer again, grinning from ear to ear.

"What," George huffed, his eyebrows scrunching in confusion. Clay tilted his head a bit, and George distantly was reminded of a puppy.

"Oh come on, George, loosen up. This is a party!" Clay shouted, spreading his hands out as much as he could. Just then, Magic in the Hamptons began blasting on the speakers, making Clay smile mischievously before grabbing onto George's wrist and pulling him towards the living room that was large enough to serve as a dance floor.

"What're you doing?!" George tried yelling over the music, but Clay only let out a wheeze as he dragged him to the very center of it. Some people moved out of the way, saying hi to Clay and giving them space, and George felt his heart rate begin to spike.

"Spot a little hottie when I flipped out the shades," Clay sung along, taking off the white goggle shades off of his head and placing them on George, laughing after doing so and continuing to sing along to the song still blasting around them. George took off the glasses in favor of putting them on the top of his head to see better, noticing that Clay's gaze and smile was still trained on him.

"Are you tired of running through my mind? Take a break and we can have a good time," Clay sung along and winked, suddenly grabbing onto George's hand and spinning him around, making George let out a surprised yelp.

"Show you moves like I'm the new James Brown."

Clay pulled at George's hand, bringing them chest to chest as he wrapped an arm around his lower waist, dipping him backwards with a savage smile on his face.

"Me and you should get a room right now."

George pushed Clay away which made him lose his grip and send George dropping to the ground, Clay absolutely loosing it and letting out a wheeze that could rival a tea kettle's.

"Cause if it's gold, I'll throw it away."

"You're worth more than every single chain."

Clay helped him up, just barely avoiding losing his balance since he was still laughing like a madman, and if George was grinning wildly at this point, so what?

"It ain't gonna work if you don't want it to."

"Best drink I take is when I'm sipping you."

"You know where I go when we're dancing! Handshakes in The Hamptons and getting drunk in the mansions with you!" everyone started singing along at the top of their lungs, and even George joined in this time, making Clay smile wider.

"And you look so classy, come through with that magic," Clay and George sung together, finger gunning at each other at exactly the same time which made them both burst out laughing.

Clay moved up to George and hooked his finger under his chin, lifting his head up and smiling slyly as he sung, "You know that I'm bout to smash it, it's true~," then began wheezing as George shoved his face away, George laughing along now too and feeling more at ease than he had been at the start of the party.

"Hey George, I think you've got an admirer," Clay pointed behind George, making him whip around. The girl he had met upstairs, Maia, was dancing with several other girls and glancing over at him. When they made eye contact she grinned before turning back towards the other girls, who started giggling and looking at George too before beginning to push Maia towards him. George felt a light shove, and turned to see Clay glancing between the two and smiling encouragingly at him.

"Go get her, tiger," he heard Clay say just as he pushed him towards her. He caught himself before he could end up tripping and face planting, and Maia walked up to him with the same amused grin she always seemed to be wearing.

"Hey, George."

"Hi, Maia."

"Wanna dance?"

"I don't know how to dance," George admitted, but Maia only grinned wider. She hesitantly reached for his hand, then got bolder and laced her fingers through his. George felt his face getting warmer as Maia tilted her head, a similar blush flushing her cheeks.

"That's okay. Just feel the music, go with the flow," she said, swinging their linked hands to the beat of the music. Her hips starting moving, and she started bopping her body lazily to the beat as well. George tried his best to loosen up and copy her movements, and apparently he was doing something right because she started smiling wider and nodding in approval.

"There we go, you got this!" she said, letting go of his hand. She started putting her whole body into it, free styling some moves that fit each part of the song. "Just copy me!"

George didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing that popped into his head and whipped lazily. This set off Maia, making her laugh so hard she accidentally snorted. She covered her mouth as her eyes blew wide and her cheeks reddened, but George started laughing at that which relaxed Maia again, and the two continued dancing (George trying his best but mostly failing miserably).

George was actually kind of enjoying himself, and he would be lying if he said he felt zero attraction towards Maia. She was really cute, seemed fun to be around, and overall seemed really chill. But for some reason, he found his attention start to drift from her as he began glancing at the people around him.

He spotted Clay dancing with the group of girls that had previously been dancing with Maia. They were surrounding him, all of them trying to get his attention or trying to impress him with sensual dance moves, but either Clay was extremely dense and didn't notice or he was purposely laughing it off and continuing to enjoy himself, not giving any specific girl special attention. How Clay was able to handle all of that attention trained on solely him, George would never know.

"You're friends with Clay?" Maia asked suddenly, snapping George out of his thoughts. He felt a bit embarrassed that Maia had noticed him staring at the boy.

"Kinda. I mean, I think so? I just met him a few days ago," he explained, his voice barely carrying over the music. Maia nodded in understanding.

"Clay is a really cool guy. He's friendly with everyone, and one of the stars of the football team. That's why practically everyone loves him or wants to be him," Maia explained, looking in Clay's direction. George glanced over at him, too, watching as the girls continued to fawn over him and he remained either oblivious or unfazed. "You have no idea how many girls have been after him now that he's single."

"He wasn't single before?" George asked curiously. Maia shook her head almost solemnly.

"Yeah. You weren't here for it obviously, but he had been dating this girl since freshman year. They had been really serious, some people even thought they would be those high school sweethearts that would go on to actually get married when they're older, but they suddenly split several months ago. There's rumors as to why but I honestly don't know what's true and what isn't at this point. So many girls are after him now that he's no longer taken, but he has yet to show interest in anyone. He's probably still not ready to be in another relationship."

George continued watching Clay interact respectfully with the girls. He probably felt George's gaze on him because he turned his way. Their eyes met, and George realized the smile Clay had on for the girls was forced because one he knew was genuine broke through now as he gave George a thumbs up while not so subtly glancing at Maia and back at him. Maia snorted at his not at all subtle gesture before turning back to George.

"He's a good guy. You found yourself a good friend," she smiled honestly. George smiled back before the music faded out and someone began talking through a mic.

"How's everyone enjoying the party???" a voice boomed, and George identified it as belonging to Karl. He was standing at the top of the stairs holding a microphone that he attached to one of the speakers, looking down at everyone with a big smile. Everyone let out whoops and applause, making Karl laugh giddily. "Alrighty everyone, well keep that energy because now we will be having a special performance by one of our very own. Everyone give a warm round of applause to mxmtoon, who will be serenading us with one of her very own songs!"

Everyone turned towards George's direction with erupted applause, and he looked around confused until he realized they were looking not at him, but at Maia who still stood by his side.

"Shit, I didn't think I would be performing so soon..." Maia muttered under her breath before giving George an apologetic smile. "Sorry George, that's my cue. Hope you enjoy the show!"

George watched her take off towards the stairs, making her way to the top and taking the mic from Karl as he stepped aside.

"Hey everyone, hope you enjoy Prom Dress!" she called out with a smile before closing her eyes and clearing her throat. George felt someone's shoulder lightly bump into his, and he turned to see Clay was back by his side with the same contagious smile he always seemed to be wearing.

Music started pouring out of the speakers, a softer melody compared to the music that had been playing before, and Maia began singing.

"I'm nearing the end of my fourth year. I feel like I've been lacking, crying too many tears. Everyone seemed to say it was so great. But did I miss out, was it a huge mistake?"

George watched in awe as she continued singing beautifully, feeling Clay's gaze still on him out of the corner of his eye.

"She's good," George commented.

"Oh, yeah. Maia has written a lot of songs, she's really well known around campus for that," Clay responded. George turned to look at him now.

"She wrote this song herself?"

"Yup."

"Do you sing?" George asked out of nowhere. Clay looked at him confused, and even George was surprised by his own question.

"No, not necessarily. Why?"

"I don't know, just from the snippets of you singing along to that song earlier I thought you could sing."

"I wasn't trying to sound good, George," Clay started wheezing now, and George felt his lips inch upwards.

"You weren't half bad, to be honest."

"Are you complimenting me, George?" Clay raised an eyebrow, his lips pulling upwards in amusement. George rolled his eyes.

"You know what, forget I said anything."

"Nooo George-" Clay cut himself off with his own wheezing laughter as leaned down to drape his arms around George's neck, bringing him in to a kind of choke-hold hug from behind. George tried swatting the taller boy away, ignoring the warmth crawling up the surface of his cheeks.

"Clay, let go-"

"Not until you tell me more about how incredible of a singer you think I am~," Clay teased from behind him before dissolving into more laughter. George fell limp, giving up on trying to get him off.

"You're so annoying."

"You love me, George."

"Wha-" George snapped his head back and upwards to look up at the boy still hugging him from behind, whom was looking down at him with amusement sparkling in his eyes. "I met you like 3 days ago!"

"You still love me because I'm such an incredibly handsome and irresistible man that is insanely good at singing that you had no choice but to fall head over heels in love with me," Clay explained, wheezing when George attempted to swat his head but didn't reach. George huffed, crossing his arms and ignoring when Clay rested his chin over his head, his arms still draped around his neck.

George looked back upwards towards Maia only to meet her eye. She turned away quickly, though, finishing the last lines of her song.

"I guess I thought that prom was gonna be fun, but now I'm sitting on the floor and all I wanna do is run," Maia glanced back at George, who was confused by her hurt expression. "All I wanna do is run."

Cheers and clapping erupted all around him as she smiled now, but something told George it was a little force. Clay let go of George then, urging him to go to her as she began walking back down the stairs. As George approached her, she glanced his way before looking away from him again.

"That was awesome. You're a really good singer and songwriter," George complimented her. She looked at George now, hurt still flashing on her face and confusing George further. Had he said the wrong thing?

"How would you know, you weren't even paying attention," she mumbled, and George thought he misheard her over the music beginning to blast out of the speakers once more.

"What?"

"Never mind. I'll see you around, George," she smiled sadly before turning and walking away. He stayed standing there, not able to process what had just happened.

"What was that about?" Clay came up beside him, and George shrugged.

"I actually have no idea."

Clay started wheezing at his honest response, and his laugh made George feel a bit better, a smile creeping onto his own face.

"Girls, am I right," Clay grinned, elbowing him playfully. George was reminded of what Maia had told him earlier about his ex but decided it would be better not to ask, so he instead merely hummed in agreement.

"Georgie! Clay!"

Karl wrapped an arm around Clay and his other arm around George, smiling widely at the both of them.

"We're playing spin the bottle, you guys want in?"

Clay and George glanced to each other, but before George could decline, Clay said, "Sure. It'll be fun." George gaped at Clay, who grinned at George innocently as Karl let out an excited whoop.

"Cmon then, gentlemen," Karl giggled as he navigated the duo through the crowd towards a side room.

George felt his heartbeat pounding loudly in his ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that updates come out faster on Wattpad :) check it out here  
> https://www.wattpad.com/story/246559344-love-dream-dnf
> 
> Holy heck this was a big fat chapter and I didn't even get to cover half of the events I have planned. This party arc might end up being 3 updates long haha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, though! It's actually my favorite out of the ones I've written so far.
> 
> Also thank you so much for over 50 kudos and over 600 hits already! Like what I barely started posting yesterday ho w ;;;; I love you guys wtf
> 
> And as always, remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party arc (2/3)

George watched nervously as Karl began passing red cups around the group sitting down in the center of his gaming room. He received one as well, peering down at the liquid inside of it that smelled strongly of alcohol.

"Oh shit hell yeah, now this is the good stuff."

George turned towards the boy sitting beside him who was looking at his cup like someone gave him a slice of bread when he had been starving for a week. He had on a navy blue button up shirt with a matching navy blue beanie that had 'LAFD' stitched into one side, straight black hair coming out of it and slightly covering one of his eyes.

"Cheap shit, bring out the good stuff, Karl," another boy countered, who was sitting at the other side of the boy wearing the beanie. He had side burns connecting to his beard that went down his face but stopped right before his chin and a full grown mustache atop his mouth. He was wearing a black misfits hoodie and a black New York Yankees hat on his head.

"Do you know these people," Wilbur leaned in besides George, whispering in his ear so the others wouldn't hear. George looked around the room, only able to identify three people.

"I only know three people, besides you and Niki," George responded, glancing at Niki who was sitting besides Wilbur, looking around nervously. She glanced his way and gave him a stiff wave, one George returned just as stiffly.

It was obvious they were both nervous. Even Wilbur was acting kind of stiff as he looked around the room.

"Same here. I know Clay, obviously, that Sapnap guy and Karl because of you. Oh, and Minx," he added as if an after thought. George turned to him questioningly.

"Who's Minx?"

"I am, asshole."

George turned to a girl sitting across the room from him, in between Clay and another girl he didn't know. Her hair was dyed what looked like blue to George but was actually purple, and she had on dark makeup and eyeliner that made her eyes look huge. She was wearing a black, laced crop top with black short-shorts, and she stared at George with raised eyebrows. She stood out so much now that George had noticed her that he didn't know how he had missed her before.

"What," she drawled with a strong, Irish accent.

"Nothing," George said quickly, but Minx continued glaring at him.

"You're going to scare away the Brits, Becca," the boy with the mutton chops spoke up. Minx shifted her glare to him.

"Shut the fuck up, Schlatt, if they're pussies then that's their own damn faults," Minx (or Becca?) huffed as she leant on the sofa behind her. Clay started wheezing next to her, and several others in the room started laughing as well.

"I'm actually German, not British," Niki spoke up quietly, but it was loud enough that people directed their attention to her. George half expected Minx to go off on her as well, but to his surprise her expression softened as she turned to smile at the girl.

"Oh honey, I know you're German. That's why I was only insulting the British people, because I could never insult you," Minx smiled softly. George gaped as Niki smiled back and giggled.

"Aw, thank you Minx, you're so sweet," she responded with a smile. Minx formed a heart with her hands, one Niki returned from across the room, and George was still reeling from the sudden 180.

"Minx is hosting Niki," Wilbur leaned in to respond George's question from earlier.

Well that explained a lot.

"So you're a British boy, eh?" beanie boy asked besides George, leaning a bit closer to him.

"Yes..?"

"I'm Alexis. You can call me Alex," the boy grinned, his voice practically booming. George smiled slightly.

"I'm George."

"Yo, I'm Schlatt. And he actually goes by Quackity, am I right, Alex?" the guy with the mutton chops, Schlatt, grinned with amusement.

"Shut the fuck up, Schlatt!" Alex, or 'Quackity,' yelled dramatically, George oblivious to whatever the inside joke was.

"Who are you two," Schlatt ignored him, turning towards Niki and Wilbur. They exchanged introductions just as Karl finished giving out the drinks and sat down on the other side of Schlatt. Sapnap, who was sitting besides Karl, put down his drink and dropped his head onto Karl's lap, who let him, and began mumbling strings of words in the midst of his already groggy state. Minx was sitting besides them, and Clay besides her still, across the room from George. There were two other girls he didn't know sitting on the other side of Clay, and a boy in the middle of those two and Niki, making up the whole circle of people that were going to play.

"Okay everyone, so the rules are simple. The bottle spins," Karl began, lifting up an empty bottle of wine and placing it in the middle of the circle. "In the center. Whoever it lands on, they get asked a truth or dare question from the person that spun the bottle."

"Oh, so we're playing the lame version of this game," Schlatt said, making several people snicker.

"It's not lame!" Karl defended. "It gets interesting. Plus, if the person doesn't do their truth or dare, they have to drink."

"Hell yeah dude, I'll drink to that!" Sapnap cheered from Karl's lap as he reached for the cup he had put down, but Karl grabbed his cup before he could and held it away from him.

"No more drinks for you, Sap. You can sit out of this game," Karl instructed as Sapnap whined but ended up closing his eyes and making himself comfortable on Karl's lap, curling into him like an overgrown kitten.

"He's like an overgrown kitten," Minx commented George's exact thoughts, making him gape at her. She caught his eye and raised an eyebrow at him, making George look away.

"I'll go first," Alex said, reaching forward and spinning the bottle. It slowed before coming to a stop to point at the boy sitting besides Niki. He was wearing a white shirt and black jacket over it that had a colorful design at the center, as well as black pants. His hair was a reddish brown with a few white highlights in it, and some stubble was visible on his chin. He was staring down at the bottle pointing directly at him with wide eyes before looking up at Alex nervously.

"Fundy! My man! Truth or dare!" Alex said loudly. Fundy mumbled something about his name being Floris and not Fundy, but finally said "Truth."

"Tell us the truth, Fundy. Who do you fancy?" he grinned mischievously. Fundy's eyes widened comically and his eyes shot to his right before quickly snapping back to Alex as he laughed uncomfortably.

"I don't like anyone."

"Oh, that is a fucking lie," Alex shouted with a grin, calling on his bs and leaning forward. "If you don't tell us who, you'll have to drink."

Fundy seemed to weigh his options before grabbing his cup and taking a drink out of it, swallowing roughly. Alex and Schlatt burst out laughing, but George continued staring at Fundy curiously as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

George could've sworn the person Fundy had glanced at for a split second had been Clay.

"Alright, my turn," Schlatt said roughly as he spun the bottle. It came to a stop in front of Minx, who glared down at the bottle as if it had personally offended her.

"You know the drill, Becca," Schlatt laughed, making her glare at him now as if he had done it on purpose.

"Dare, asshole."

"I dare you to kiss the most handsome male in the room," Schlatt grinned as the whole room let out an echo of 'oohs.' Minx leveled one last glare at him before standing up from her spot on the floor, and before George could realize what was happening, she walked up to him and leant down a bit, moving Clay's white goggles George had forgotten he still had on off his head and onto his nose. She kissed the top of his head as the rest of the room let out sounds of surprise. She walked back to sit down, crossing her arms as George gaped at her.

"You kissed his hair, Minx," Karl spoke up, pointing at George who was still dumb founded. Minx rolled her eyes.

"I wasn't going to kiss him on the lips, you pervert. Besides, Schlatt didn't specify anyway."

"I'm not the handsomest male?" Schlatt joked, feigning hurt. Minx flipped him off, but a smile was playing at her lips as she glanced at George, who moved the white goggles back up to rest at the top of his head, his cheeks flushed.

"Me next!" Karl spun the bottle, coming to land pointed at Alex.

"Alright, lay it on me, Karl. Dare," Alex said excitedly. Karl put a hand on his chin, thinking for several seconds.

"I dare you to walk out the room and shout 'I ain't ever seen two pretty best friends, always one of em gotta be ugly' at the top of your lungs."

Alex did, yelling and startling several people that were walking by which made everyone in the room burst out laughing. He sat back down, and it was Minx's turn to spin.

It landed on Wilbur.

"Truth or dare, Wilbur."

"Truth."

"I dare you to tell us the truth about how you feel about Niki," Minx grinned wickedly. George turned to see Wilbur's face flushing slightly, Niki's in a similar state.

"Minx-" Niki started nervously, but was cut off when Wilbur spoke up.

"I think Niki is a really amazing girl, and people walk all over her all the time just because she's extremely nice to everyone. People say she's wholesome and cute, and while this is true, I also believe she's really strong and intelligent and is capable of doing stuff on her own. Whoever is lucky enough to be her partner really hit the jackpot with this one," he finished, looking at Niki who smiled super big at Wilbur in return. Everyone in the room let out a chorus of "awww's."

"That was cute, but I meant romantically," Minx said bluntly, making Wilbur and Niki flush once more. Thankfully, Karl saved them from further embarrassment by saying they needed to move on because Wilbur had technically already answered the question.

Clay was up to spin, and George met his eye. Clay flashed him a smirk as he spun the bottle, eventually slowing down and coming to a stop to point at the girl sitting besides Fundy. Her hair was an electric blue, which made her stand out just as much as Minx, and she was wearing a blue crop top and black short-shorts. She smiled at Clay, leaning her hand on her chin as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well hello there, Clay," she smiled sweetly at him.

"Hello Celestia. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

Clay thought for a few seconds before shaking his head. "I got nothing."

"Celestia, I dare you to find your crush and kiss them!" Alex yelled suddenly, as others let out a chorus of complaints such as "They already dared someone to do something similar." Despite that, she nodded. George was expecting her to walk out of the room in search of her crush, but instead she crawled the short stretch she needed to sit directly in front of Clay.

"Hi, Clay."

"Celestia-" Clay started, but before he could get another word in, she had leant in and pressed her lips onto his.

George watched as Clay's eyes flew wide open, and nearly everyone in the room gasped. Clay broke the kiss by shuffling backwards, his eyes still as big as saucers.

"I- Celestia-"

"It was the dare. Sorry, Clay," she responded before moving back to her spot. Clay stared at her with wide eyes, still in shock, before glancing around the room and coming to a stop to look at George.

George raised his eyebrows at him, and Clay seemed at an obvious loss of words as he pressed his lips into a thin line.

"My turn!" the girl sitting in between Clay and Celestia spoke up quickly, possibly in an attempt to lift the sudden tension in the room. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing a long sleeved black top with a black skirt, some of her hair picked up in a makeshift ponytail while the rest was loose. The bottle spun and came to a stop to point directly at-

"Georgie!" Karl smiled at him. George stared down at the bottle before looking up at the girl.

"George, right? We haven't met, I'm Alyssa," the girl spoke up. George nodded slightly as she asked him "Truth or dare."

"Um, dare?"

"I dare you to down your whole cup AND Sapnap's on top of that," she grinned widely as everyone erupted in shouts, effectively lifting the tension entirely.

"What?! Is that allowed?? I have to drink either way," George complained, looking around. Everyone starting egging him on, shouting "Chug, chug, chug, chug," as Karl passed Sapnap's still full cup to Schlatt, and Schlatt to Alex, and finally Alex to George. George looked down at the cups on either of his hands which were each filled to the brim, the strong smell of the alcohol filling his nostrils and making him light headed.

He looked over at Clay. He wasn't looking back at him, rather playing with a loose string on the carpet flooring, deep in thought. George made a mental note to talk to Clay later as he tipped his cup up to his lips and drank the whole thing. Everyone started cheering, shouting his name excitedly as George continued with his own cup next, starting to cough as the liquid burned down his throat.

"Ayeee, that's my boyyyy," Alex cheered as he patted George's back roughly. George let out a strained chuckle amidst his coughing just as Clay suddenly stood up and walked out of the room. Celestia was chewing on her nail, her expression sad as she watched him walk out.

"I'll be right back," George blurted out, already feeling the effects of the alcohol in his bloodstream as he stood up and nearly lost his balance, rushing after Clay without a second thought.

George would be unable to recall the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party arc (3/3)

Clay was pushing past people, muttering apologies every time he accidentally shoved someone especially hard, but didn't once stop moving. He wove his way through the crowd, the pulsing music and loud chatter almost whispers in comparison to the pounding in his own head, muting out every other sound.

He rushed out of Karl's back door where a lot more people were lounging around in his backyard and around his large pool. He ignored everyone, even the people that called out to him, and grabbed hold of the fence door at the very end of the backyard, fiddling with the latch and opening it before dashing into the woods it led to.

He didn't even notice it was already dark out.

He didn't care that the woods would be even darker.

He ran away from the noises of the party, yet the loud ringing in his ears persisted.

He ignored the branches scratching his cheeks as he wove his way through the thick grove, not exactly knowing where he was going but not stopping either, his feet pounding against the uneven forest floor.

He just needed to get away.

He needed it to be quiet for a second.

Just for a second.

Please, just be quiet.

He tripped over the root of a tree that was sticking out of the ground and fell forward, face planting on the floor, effectively dirtying his hoodie and tearing his pants.

He winced as he looked down at his exposed knee where blood had started to trickle out before sighing. He rested his back on the trunk of a tree beside him, leaning his head back and closing his eyes tightly.

His hand absentmindedly went up to touch his bottom lip as the event replayed in his head.

"Idiot," he muttered to himself.

"Who're you calling an idiot, idiot," a voice huffed out. Clay jumped, having been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't realize somebody had followed him.

"George?" Clay asked in surprise, barely able to make out the boy in the dark. He was breathing heavily, which meant he had probably come running after him.

"I feel like throwing up," he admitted shakily. Clay quickly got up, hissing at the pain in his leg but ignoring it in favor of coming up to George's side.

"Here, sit down," he moved George to the tree, lowering him down as gently as possible. He then sat down next to him, wincing once again as pain jolted through his leg.

"You're bleeding, Clay."

"I'll be alright."

"No. You're going to bleed to death and die. Then I'm going to puke all over you and it'll be super gross and it'll smell really bad. When someone comes and finds us they'll think I murdered you in cold blood and take me to jail to serve a sentence of 50 years for manslaughter."

Clay started laughing as George continued.

"Then once my 50 years are up I'll be an old wrinkly man. I'll have diabetes and everybody will hate me for murdering you. I will die two days later."

Clay was wheezing at this point, tears collecting at the corner of his eyes as he clutched his stomach.

"I can't breathe-" he barely let out between laughs. George turned to him, his face deadpan.

"Why are you laughing, Clay. That's rather rude. I just died."

Clay's head fall to hide in the crook of George's neck, his shoulders still shaking with laughter. He felt George start to giggle too, before he was outright laughing along with Clay. When the two of them finally settled down, Clay realized his head was still on George's shoulder, but he didn't move.

"You're a talkative drunk, aren't you," Clay chuckled lowly. He felt George relax a bit, leaning his weight on the trunk behind them and shifting closer to Clay in the process.

"I'm not drunk."

"You downed two cups of alcohol that were filled to the brim," Clay laughed lightly. He felt George shrug.

"I guess."

"You guess."

"I guess."

The two boys fell into a silence that surprisingly wasn't uncomfortable. Clay could hear as George's breathing began to even out, along with the sounds of crickets around them and the rustling of leaves in the light wind.

"Oh right," George spoke up suddenly.

"Oh right what."

"I was going to ask you if you were okay."

Clay felt himself smiling slightly at the forgetfulness of his friend, but then it dropped when he thought over the question. He hadn't even realized George had made him forget the reason why he had blindly ran into the woods in the first place.

"I needed to get out of there."

"Vouch."

"Pfft- What??" Clay wheezed, turning his head slightly to look at George's profile.

"Oh sorry, I meant to say, that sucks. Boohoo you. So sad. Much depresso.

Clay started laughing again, finding it hilarious the way George acted as a drunk.

"You're a piece of work," Clay sighed after he had stopped laughing, making George chuckle lightly.

"YoU lOvE mE, cLaY," George made fun of what Clay had said earlier in the night using a hilariously high pitched voice that set off Clay in another round of wheezes.

"Settle down there, buckaroo, it wasn't that funny," George said in a terrible Texan accent, Clay doubling over in laughter and making his head fall from George's shoulder to rest in his lap instead. Clay wiped at his eyes and looked up to see George peering down at him.

"Thanks, George," Clay whispered, loud enough that George heard.

"I didn't do anything."

"You did a lot, actually," Clay chuckled, smiling up at the boy.

"Do you want to talk about earlier? Or should I drop it," George asked. And for some reason, this was the moment Clay looked at him, like, really looked at him.

George was attractive, he had been aware of that fact since he had first crashed into him that day at the airport, and Clay had no problem admitting that he thought so. He was already popular among the girls at school, especially since he had that cute British accent that women were generally total suckers for.

His short hair was messy, and Clay noticed with amusement that some crumpled leaves and small sticks had gotten stuck in there, probably from chasing after Clay. He still had Clay's white goggles on the top of his head somehow. He was wearing a blue shirt that had a red insignia in the center right below his collar with the numbers 404 written in white.

"I was in a serious relationship that ended a few months ago," Clay started suddenly. George's eyes widened slightly, but he didn't say anything as Clay continued.

"Her name was Sam. I used to think she was my soulmate, the love of my life, all of that cheesy stuff," Clay chuckled darkly. "I couldn't have been more wrong. The second things got hard, she said it was better to end it. All those years, gone up in smoke just because she didn't want to try a little bit harder."

"What happened?" George whispered, as if afraid to ask. Clay gaze flickered between each of the boy's brown eyes, filled with deep concern, just for Clay.

He hadn't wanted to talk about what happened to anyone. It had been months ago, but to Clay it was still an open wound.

But for some reason, here in George's lap, looking up at the boy with tall trees swishing in the wind above him and further up an endless purple sky twinkling with millions upon trillions of stars, was when Clay finally put the painful memories, the terrible nightmares that had haunted him for months, and the pain and guilt he felt every single day no matter how much he tried to hide it, into words.

"I fucked up," Clay said in a choked laugh, feeling the sting of tears threatening to pour out of his eyes. "I fucked up so bad, George. I was supposed to drive my sister to her first cross country meet, and she was so excited to have joined, you should've seen her, George. She wouldn't shut up about it," Clay laughed at the memory, before his face darkened again.

"But I didn't see the truck coming and-" Clay cut himself off in a sob, his hand flying up to his mouth in an attempt to cover it.

He pushed through.

"The truck hit the passenger's side where she was sitting. The car flipped over twelve times."

Clay knew he was crying now, his face wet as he frustratingly wiped the tears away with his hands.

"I don't know how we made it out alive. Or how I was the one that made it out in one piece out of the two of us."

"What do you mean?" George asked softly. Clay smiled at him, pain evident in every feature of his face.

"Her leg got fucked up so bad, she had to get an amputation. How ironic, right? She was about to go to her first cross country meet, and she loses her leg. And it was all my fault," Clay laughed humorlessly. He could taste the salt of his own tears in his mouth now.

"It wasn't your fault, though," George said, but Clay shook his head.

"It was. It is my fault. I should've seen the truck coming, but I got distracted because I was on speaker with my ex-girlfriend, Sam," Clay explained, the memories fresh in his mind and cutting into him like multiple blades digging into his skin.

"After what happened to Drista, my sister, I lost it. I wasn't myself for weeks, I'm still not entirely myself sometimes and I lose my cool a lot, but back then when the accident had just happened it was infinitely times worse. I was so depressed I started pushing all the people I care about away, and I refused to talk about it to anyone. I actually haven't talked to anyone about it, until..." Clay trailed off, looking up at George again. Clay hadn't even noticed George had started playing with his hair, and the sensation of hands raking through it helped him calm down the slightest bit as he leaned into the touch.

"Anyway, Sam tried to get me to open up, but I wasn't ready to talk about it. I kept pushing her away, and she took it personally and said if I wasn't comfortable talking at least to her about it, then it wouldn't work out. Saying it now, it sounds like she just wanted to feel as though she was special, like she was the only one I would willingly talk to about it, which is stupid. It doesn't work that way."

Clay cleared his throat, already feeling it becoming sore before continuing, "She ended it. I think she also had some guilt about what happened since she was in a call with me when the accident happened, or maybe even some trauma from hearing a crash through a phone and knowing that there is nothing you can do to stop it. I don't know." Clay shrugged. "But yeah, we broke up and it only made the situation worse for me. Not only did I fuck up my sister's life, but I lose my girlfriend in the process, too."

"If your girlfriend broke up with you over something like that, then she wasn't worth it. You deserve so much better than that," George spoke up, staring at Clay with an intensity that had him pinned in his gaze. Clay felt his lips twitch upwards.

"Thanks, George," he whispered. He realized he had been thanking George a lot lately.

First when he hugged him and comforted him that day he had snapped at everyone, and now twice today.

"It still sucked, though. Like I said, I thought she was the girl I would spend the rest of my life with, but it ended just like that. That's why I don't want to commit myself to anyone again, it's not worth the hard work only for it to end so abruptly over the slightest inconvenience. That's why when Celestia kissed me-" Clay cleared his throat, shaking his head. "Celestia is great. Maybe if I was in a better mindset, I wouldn't mind exploring a relationship with her and getting to know her better in that aspect. But I can't give her any of that. Not with the way I am right now. I feel stuck. I've felt stuck for months."

Clay flinched when he felt George's thumb caress his cheek, then the other, and he realized he was wiping away the tears from his face, which made him smile the slightest bit.

"You're a touchy drunk, too, huh," Clay laughed lightly, finding it adorable when the boy pouted.

"No I'm not. You're just sad," he huffed. Clay chuckled a bit more, curling himself a bit more on George's lap.

"Yeah, I am sad."

"Why sad. Happy."

Clay laughed again, shaking his head fondly at the British boy. They fell into a comfortable silence, the sounds from the party too far away to hear, especially with the added wind.

"It's crazy how easy it is to talk to you. Like, we just met a few days ago, and yet," Clay shrugged. George hummed, his hand still playing with strands of his hair.

"Wilbur once said that sometimes it's easier to talk to someone you don't know as much in comparison to someone you've know for years," George responded, tilting his head at Clay. Clay felt himself smiling as he thought of Wilbur, who had supported Clay this whole time without demanding explanations for his actions, such as the day he lost it during practice. He hadn't even asked about the prosthetic on his sister Drista when he formally met her, instead having treated her like every other kid her age, and continued to do so.

"Wise words."

"Truly wise."

"Thanks for listening, George."

"Anytime, Claydoh."

Clay started wheezing, slapping George's arm playfully before getting up from his lap, grimacing slightly from the pain that shot through his leg.

He had even forgotten about the still open wound on his knee.

He shakily made his way to his feet, sniffing and wiping the last of the tears from his face, feeling lighter than he had in months. Saying what he had been thinking about for the last months out loud to someone had actually been a bit liberating.

George stood up as well, swaying a bit as he did so Clay came up to his side to balance him. George then moved to Clay, tiptoeing to wrap his arms around his neck, and Clay had an odd sense of deja vu as he returned the hug tightly, slinking his arms around George's waist and burying his head into his shoulder. He breathed in deeply, letting out a shaky exhale as the tears finally stopped pouring.

"I hope one day you come to accept that it really wasn't your fault. You deserve to forgive yourself, because I'm sure everyone else has already forgiven you," George spoke up suddenly, which goddammit, George, Clay had just stopped crying but now the tears were welling up again. Clay laughed wetly, hugging the shorter boy tighter and not saying another word.

Clay and George proceeded to make their way through the woods, an arm over each other to support the other (George because he was feeling lightheaded and kept losing his balance, and Clay because of his bleeding knee). They would burst out laughing whenever they ended up tripping or losing their balance and falling, which happened several times, but they still managed to find their way back to Karl's house.

It was still going on in full swing despite the hour, which was already past 12 probably, so they wove their way through the crowds. Several people stopped to ask them if they were okay, but George and Clay always just waved them off and laughed at how they probably looked.

Clay's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and George's face was flushed from the alcohol still in his system. Not to mention they were full of dirt, sticks and dried leaves from head to toe, and Clay's pants were still ripped where the blood had dried from the wounds.

They finally made their way up the stairs to Karl's room, thankful they didn't run into any of their close friends that probably would have bombarded them with more questions. Clay locked the door behind them to avoid anyone from entering and instructed George to change into clean clothes while he locked himself in the restroom and cleaned out his wound the best he could. He found some gauze he placed over it to prevent it from getting infected, if it wasn't already.

When Clay moved back out of the restroom, he saw George curled up on his bed in clean clothes. He smiled fondly as he made his way to his side, looking down at the boy now sleeping soundly. He absentmindedly brushed a few strands of hair away from George's forehead, but before he could turn to walk away a hand grabbed hold of his wrist.

"Stay," George whispered, his eyes still closed.

"I can't, George. I have to go home."

"Please."

Clay looked down at the boy he had opened up his heart to, laid himself completely bare in front of, and who hadn't judged him at all, instead comforted him and was there by his side, listening, and a warmth he had never felt before for anyone overtook Clay as he got the strong urge to protect him at any cost, despite the fact they had just met days ago.

"I'll stay."

"Come," George whined, pulling at his arm slightly to show he wanted Clay to lie down with him. Clay let out a fond laugh.

"I can't, George, I'm full of dirt from head to toe."

"My clothes. Bottom drawer," George let go of Clay's arm to point at a dresser on one side of the room. Clay watched him for a few seconds, realizing George was going to continue to be stubborn about this so he might as well. He moved to the drawer and opened it, grabbing the first white hoodie he saw that had a similar red insignia to George's shirt on it, and grabbed the baggiest pants he could find.

He turned back towards George, and since he saw the boy's eyes were still closed, he changed there in the middle of the room. He left his shoes and dirty clothes in a corner before grabbing the clothes he had gotten. The hoodie was thankfully big enough on George that it fit snuggly on Clay, and he had trouble taking off his pants with his wound but he managed to before slipping on the baggy, black sweats he had gotten that fit tighter on Clay than they probably did on George. He looked down with amusement when he noticed they were ankle length due to their difference in height.

"Clayyyyy," George whined from his spot on the bed. Clay chuckled as he moved back to his side, grabbing one of the blankets and placing it over George. He suddenly grabbed his arm again and yanked him down more forcefully, making Clay fall down in the bed beside him. They were now lying face to face beside each other, and George's eyes opened slowly for the first time since he had lied down.

"Sleep," George instructed. Clay was close enough that he could feel George's breath fanning his face, and a very light dusting of freckles on George's nose that he hadn't noticed before.

"Okay, George," Clay smiled softly at the other boy, who didn't close his eyes. He was scanning Clay's face before one of his hands went up to lightly brush against one cheek, then over the bridge of his nose, and then to stop at the end of his other cheek.

"Dots."

"They're freckles, George," Clay laughed softly at the 17 year old who was acting like a 7 year old, his fingers beginning to poke at each of the freckles on Clay's face.

"So many."

Clay smiled fondly as the other boy gave up on poking each of his freckles, his hand falling to rest in the small space between them. He now stared into Clay's eyes as they began to drift shut, probably from sleep taking over George.

"What color are your eyes," George mumbled the question so softly that Clay barely heard. Clay blinked at him confused, but decided it was probably the alcohol making him ask obvious questions.

"Green," Clay humored him with a response as George smiled at him drunkily. Clay realized he liked it the few times George smiled.

"I knew it. There was no way your eyes were piss colored."

Clay burst out laughing, making his face draw slightly closer to George, who looked at him confused before his eyes finally finished drifting shut.

"Sleep now."

"Good night, George."

"Night."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay begins to arouse, opening his eyes slowly, squinting at the moonlight pouring into the darkness of the room. He cuddled closer into the pillow beside him, only to realize it wasn't a pillow at all.

George was still sleeping soundly, his breaths coming out slowly and evenly and fanning Clay's collarbone lightly. His arms were wrapped lazily around Clay's middle, his body curled into Clay's, who had his arms wrapped around George's shoulders almost protectively.

Clay was embarrassed when he realized he didn't even mind. It was insane how in such a short amount of time, he had already grown way too fond and way too attached to this boy. He could even say George was one of the people he now trusted most in his most vulnerable moments, something he had a hard time doing with a lot of people he's known for years even.

Clay stayed still for several more moments, allowing himself this moment of vulnerability with the shorter boy. He felt calm and safe with him in his arms, and he realized he hadn't even had a nightmare as he slept, despite him having reopened the memories that usually haunted him just the night before.

At one point he finally decided he had overstayed his welcome, so he released George from his hold and slowly pulled the arms still wrapped around him off, allowing himself the opening to slip out of bed. Thankfully George didn't stir, probably too knocked out from the alcohol and tiredness combined. Clay readjusted the blanket over George's shoulders, looking down at the boy with a soft smile.

He glanced over at the other bed in the room to find Karl was already tucked in as well. Upon moving closer, he noticed Sapnap was laying down besides him, and the two were practically spooning. Sapnap had probably been too drunk to drive home, so Karl let him stay as well.

Clay realized they had probably noticed Clay in bed with George, but at least now he could turn it around on them and tease the two for spooning themselves.

He grabbed his shoes and dirty clothes from the corner in which he had left them before silently slipping out of the room, walking down the stairs to the front door and unlocking it quietly before making his way to his car still parked at one side of the road.

He drove home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYO🔇WHERE🔇IS🔇WILBUR🔇AYO🔇
> 
> I enjoyed writing this chapter :) very full of fluff! But will it last? Guess we'll find out ;)
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> Love each and every one of you and tysm for over 1700 hits and over 100 kudos holy hell you guys are insane :")
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay has a crisis.

"Wilbur I am so so sorry, how can I make it up to you?"

"Clay, it's fine, seriously. Dave drove me home. And you've been apologizing all morning."

Clay's grip tightened on the steering wheel as his eyebrows pinched together, his gaze focused on the road but his mind elsewhere. He couldn't shake the overwhelming feeling of guilt, and that he had fucked up and let someone who had been there for him before down, again, so much so that he didn't even question Wilbur calling Technoblade "Dave."

"Clay, stop feeling guilty. It's not your fault you passed out at Karl's party and ended up staying there."

Clay winced at the reminder of the lie he had conjured at the spur of the moment when he arrived at an ungodly hour to his house. His mom had already fallen asleep, thankfully, but one of his sisters was up when he attempted to sneak back into his room. When Drista had asked where he had been and why he was wearing different clothes, he found himself making up a story about having passed out from being too tired, and Karl gave him a change of clothes so he could rest for a bit at his house. He doesn't think she fully believed him, but she didn't drill him any further either.

Drista then repeated the story the next day to Wilbur, and Clay felt terrible for being dishonest.

But he didn't correct her. Because for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell them the truth.

That he had a meltdown and ran into the woods over a kiss. That a tipsy George ran after him, and Clay ended up having a moment with the boy. How he spilled everything he had been unable to say to any soul, or even just out loud, to him. How they went back to Karl's room, and Clay tucked George into bed. How George insisted Clay change into clean clothes that was too small for him, but he wore nonetheless, and how he was pulled into bed with him.

And how safe he felt sleeping with George in his arms.

So safe, he didn't even have a nightmare that night, despite the fact that he reopened those haunting memories just before going to bed.

And how light he's felt since then.

Well, besides the guilt over the fact that he forgot he was Wilbur's ride.

Clay winced at the pain that shot through his leg when he hit the gas. He had been pretty good at hiding his scraped knees so far to avoid questioning, but he felt himself biting into his lip every once in a while when he made certain movements with his legs.

Too bad he had to throw out those pants he tore. They had been his favorite jeans.

At least he still had his green hoodie. He thought of it, still sitting in the trunk of his car since he left it there the night before.

He needed to wash it.

"Still, you have to let me make it up to you, somehow," Clay insisted again as they neared the school. He could see Wilbur shake his head but smile out of the corner of his eye.

"Okay, Clay. I'll think about it," Wilbur finally gave in, making Clay feel a little better. He parked the car, and both of them got out before heading towards campus.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay closed his locker shut to reveal Sapnap, leaning on it with his arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

"Well hello there, Clay. Great seeing you this fine morning."

Clay turned to him fully, one eyebrow drawing up.

"Well don't you look well rested," Sapnap smiled knowingly, Clay already aware where this was going.

"How's Karl, by the way?" Clay shot back, making Sapnap's smirk drop instantly. "Are the rumors true? Is he more cuddly than a body pillow?"

"Shut up, man," Sapnap huffed, and Clay was surprised to see a light flush reddening Sapnap's cheeks. "I was drunk, I didn't realize I was cuddling him till like, the next morning. You, on the other hand, were sober. And don't try to deny it, you didn't accept a single drink all night, and you left in the middle of spin the bottle, Karl told me."

"George had insisted I stay. He was being really stubborn, and I was tired so," Clay shrugged. "I didn't intend on falling asleep for hours, and I left really early in the morning, too."

"Where did you even run off to? Karl caught me up on everything this morning, saying you suddenly ran out and George followed," Sapnap asked, looking at him questioningly. Clay bit his tongue. On the one hand, he wanted to tell him the truth but at the same time, he wanted to keep what happened between him and George that night private.

"We just talked," Clay said instead, which technically wasn't a lie. He then realized he probably spoke to George this morning as well, and had to ask, "Did you drill George about this, too?"

"Nah man, he looked terrible this morning. You can tell he doesn't handle alcohol well, bet he's having a really bad hangover. I had to leave fast to get changed at home, anyway, so I didn't get a chance to talk to him," Sapnap explained. Clay felt a pang at hearing George wasn't having the best morning, and without realizing it his mind had already started thinking of ways he could make the hangover easier for him. He was brought back when Sapnap leaned in a bit, smiling slyly. "Ooh, Clay, getting close to the British boy now, are we?" Sapnap teased, and as Clay opened his mouth to rebuke, a voice from behind interrupted him.

"How are you this chipper, Sapnap? You were totally wasted just yesterday."

Clay felt his heart stutter.

...huh?

"What can I say, I have a high alcohol tolerance," Sapnap responded proudly as Clay turned around to see George standing right behind him.

There were bags under his eyes, his hair was still wet from a shower and disheveled, and he looked like he had picked out the first articles of clothing he found and hastily put them on. He was slouching slightly, as though he were carrying a heavy weight over his shoulders, and his movements seemed slower than usual.

Sapnap had been right, he looked awful.

And yet, Clay could hear his heart drumming loudly in his ears and his throat close up as George's tired gaze slid from Sapnap to him.

"H-Hey, George," Clay stammered out, feeling his cheeks flush in embarrassment. George merely blinked at him slowly before rubbing tiredly at one of his eyes.

"That's a first."

"What do you mean?" Clay asked quickly, his voice an octave too high, and he could practically feel Sapnap's questioning gaze digging holes into the back of his head.

He could even feel his hands getting sweaty as he hastily wiped them against the sides of his pants.

Why did he feel so nervous suddenly? It was just George.

"You didn't greet me using 'georgenotfound,'" George explained slowly, swaying a bit before leaning his weight on the locker, seeming as though he were too tired to even keep himself standing upright.

"Oh, right. I guess I just forgot, I'm kind of out of it today. Long night, and all," Clay let out a strained laugh, and now he knew for sure that Sapnap was looking at him weird. George didn't notice, thankfully, because he just hummed and rubbed his eyes again, this time with both hands.

"Uggghhh, this is why I don't like drinking. Now I can't even remember-" Clay didn't hear the end of George's sentence because a loud voice began talking over him.

"Ayeeee, Georgeeee my boyyyyy," Alex draped an arm around the shorter boy, who flinched at his volume.

"Can you please speak louder, I can't hear you," George drawled sarcastically, making Alex burst out laughing and George turn to point a glare at the boy before recognition lit up his face ever so slightly. "Oh, you were the guy sitting next to me during spin the bottle. Quackity, was it?"

"Yeaaaah, that's right- wait no!" Alex screeched, offended when he realized what George had called him. "It's Alex! Not Quackity, A L E X."

"I'm pretty sure he heard you a little too loud and clear. You don't need to spell it out for him, Quackity," Sapnap chuckled as he began walking away from the three, heading for class. Alex quickly followed suit, bickering with the boy, which left Clay and George.

Alone.

For the first time, since the night before.

Stay cool, Clay.

"Do I have something on my face or something," George drawled. Clay quickly shook his head when he realized he had been staring.

So much for staying cool.

"Um, nope. You just look...tired?" Clay blurted out, before he began flailing his hands every which way. "Not to say you look bad. You look fine, it's just obvious you had a long night. And the hungover probably isn't helping. Um, do you feel okay? Do you need water or something? Okay, if I'm being honest, you do look seconds away from passing out so-"

Clay cut his embarrassing rambling short when he realized George was giggling, his head falling slightly and his eyes scrunching shut as soft laughter poured out of him, shaking his shoulders slightly. Clay felt heat pooling in his face as the shorter boy looked up at him with a tiny, barely-there smile.

"I'll be fine, Clay. I could use some water, though."

"Right, of course," Clay responded quickly, opening his locker and grabbing the unopened bottle of water he had conveniently left in there before holding it out awkwardly for George. "Um, here. I haven't opened it yet."

"Thanks," George replied softly as he took the bottle and slowly took off the cap before bringing it up to his lips to take several sips. Clay's eyes subconsciously fell down to his throat and followed the movement of George's adam's apple as it bobbed up and down with every swallow. Upon realizing what he was doing, his eyes quickly darted away, his face burning.

What the hell?

"Are you okay, by the way? You've been acting kind of off," George asked once he had downed more than half the bottle, tucking it under one of his arms and wiping his mouth with his free hand. Clay attempted to swallow past his suddenly too-dry throat.

"I'm just a little tired. Making me act weird, I guess," Clay lied before biting his lip as George studied his face closely. He watched as the boy blinked slowly before shrugging, turning around to slowly drag himself towards homeroom, leaving Clay asking himself what the fuck was going on with him today.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay avoided George for the rest of the day.

It wasn't exactly hard, he only did have homeroom with the guy, but for some reason, Clay was suddenly so aware of him.

It's like he was suddenly everywhere.

His gaze kept finding him amongst the crowd in between classes as if he stuck out like a sore thumb, which really he didn't, and yet he would always have to quickly dart the opposite way to avoid the risk of bumping into him.

Thankfully he never did, because the boy was too hungover to notice Clay's sorry ass scurrying around and most of the time he was too distracted by Karl constantly making sure he was okay.

He didn't even know why he was acting this way. All of a sudden, he couldn't even look at George without feeling his heart stutter before uncomfortably lodging itself in his throat and feeling his face heat up considerably.

He needed to talk about it with someone. But he didn't want it to be someone that knew about him leaving the middle of the spin the bottle game with George. He didn't want anyone asking questions.

He found his opportunity after school when football practice had ended. Techno was the last person remaining in the locker room, putting the last of his things into his duffel bag before closing the gym locker shut.

Technoblade was wise, right? In a weird, random anecdotes and metaphors kind of way.

"Hey Techno," Clay spoke up, getting the other boy's attention. Techno nodded at him in acknowledgement as Clay moved closer to him, taking a seat in the bench closest to the boy. "I have a question."

"What is the question, Clay?" Techno asked, turning his body towards him to give Clay his full attention. Clay suddenly felt himself squirming as he racked his brain on how to phrase his question while keeping the situation as vague as possible.

"So let's say all of a sudden, one day, you start acting weird around a person. Like, they suddenly make you nervous and you find yourself avoiding them. What do you think would cause you to suddenly act like that?"

Techno turned his attention to the ceiling for a second, taking a few seconds to consider Clay's words, before turning back to raise an eyebrow at the boy. "What was my last interaction with this person like? Before I started acting like a dimwit. Metaphorically speaking, of course," he added. Clay found himself smiling in amusement at the indirect jab that was probably on purpose, knowing Technoblade.

"Um, you had just opened up to this person. A lot. Told them about stuff you hadn't told anybody else." Clay turned away from Techno's steady gaze then, coughing awkwardly a bit.

"It probably has everything to do with that. You told this person things you haven't told anyone else, so now you don't know how to act around a person with this much knowledge about your vulnerabilities. They can easily use it against you at any given moment, which is why I would never give my opponent a weapon they can use to turn against me. They say you should be careful who you share your weaknesses with, because some are just waiting for the opportunity to use this information against-" Clay felt this monologue was getting sidetracked, so he quickly cut Techno off.

"Right, but- wait, I never said it was about me," Clay refuted quickly when he realized Techno had referred to the situation as Clay's situation. Techno rolled his eyes at him before moving to sit beside him on the bench, side eyeing him.

"Please, it's so painfully obvious this is something you're going through and don't know how to react to, so don't you dare say that cheesy line that 'I'm asking for a friend' when we both know the truth," Techno air quoted before giving Clay a look like 'I dare you to deny it.' Clay sighed heavily, resting his chin on his hand and looking at the lockers in front of them.

"It's just so weird. I open up to him like I haven't to anybody else, and now I'm overthinking everything I do and say around him. Shouldn't I be feeling closer to him? And not this, weird, suddenly aware of everything he does thing I'm feeling," Clay rambled, animatedly gesturing with his hands before slumping again. Techno remained silent before humming slightly.

"Not necessarily. I personally think this is a normal reaction. Like you said, you haven't told anyone else about the stuff you told him, so that off the bat makes him different from everyone else. He knows you in a way no one else does, so now you don't know how to act around a person that can understand you to that depth."

Clay remained silent, letting Techno's words sink in.

It made sense, actually. He was suddenly so aware of George and felt nervous around him because George knew things about him nobody else did, which is why he didn't know how to act around him now because he wasn't able to put on that same mask he could with everyone else.

Clay stood up quickly, turning to look down at Techno who gave him a calculated stare in return.

"You're right. That makes so much more sense. Thank you so much, Techno," Clay grinned honestly, and Techno gave him the slightest smile in return.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George practically dragged himself up the stairs to Karl's room, still feeling the after effects of downing two full cups of alcohol the previous night. Karl trailed after him, continuing to persist he forget about homework and just get some rest for the night.

"Fine, fine, I will. Let me just check something first," George muttered as he flopped on his bed and pulled the laptop sitting on the nightstand beside him to his lap. Karl furrowed his eyebrows as he leaned forward and flicked George's forehead.

"You're being a nimrod, Georgie. You need rest! Oh, and I'll bring you more water, you need a lot of that," Karl decided, turning for the door and dashing back down the stairs to fetch George some water. George found himself smiling fondly at where the boy had just left, shaking his head slightly before turning his attention back to his now open laptop.

He didn't have to think twice as he moved his mouse to open his email, a new notification showing up in bold at the top of his inbox.

He still knew nothing about this "Dream" person, apart from that they were from the school he currently attended. He still had no idea who they were, if they were a boy, girl, or a person that didn't identify with either genders, or what was their reason to contact him in the first place.

So far, the two had been emailing back and forth every day since this Dream person first contacted George, Dream taking the lead in majority of the conversations by asking him questions about his day or other ordinary things you would talk about with someone, or with a friend, even.

Could George consider this person a friend? He had no idea who they were or what their true intentions were, but he didn't exactly actively attempt to end the conversations with them, either. It was almost nice, just talking to a faceless person about meaningless things, even if he never went into too much detail.

It had become almost routine now, to open up his email and find a new message from Dream. George clicked on the email that continued to have no subject every time, scanning over whatever conversation this person decided they would be having today.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Hello georgenotfound,

Watchu up to? Did you miss me? :)

Might take a fat nap later,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George felt his lips quirking up slightly, instantly picking up in the change of tone in Dream's emails. While they had been friendly from day one, they seemed to be getting less formal in their emails. This one was especially casual, compared to previous messages they had sent him.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

no longer keeping up the regal act, are we?

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Whatever could you mean. I do not know that of which you speak of.

Don't change the subject just cause you can't admit you missed me,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George rolled his eyes but found himself laughing softly nonetheless, his fingers tapping away at the keyboard of his laptop, making it sway a bit in the uneven position he has it placed on his lap.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

your eloquent mask is beginning to chip away, Dream, admit it

also I didn't change the subject cause of that

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

I have no eloquent mask. This is just who I am. Also, it's cute how you referred to me as Dream haha.

Just admit you missed me George,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George felt his cheeks warm the slightest bit. Which was an understandable reaction, of course. The cute comment had been a bit out of nowhere and George was taken by surprise.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

that's how you end every one of your emails, so I just assumed you wanted me to call you that since you don't want to tell me who you really are

and no

Reply Forward

"What the honk?!" Karl screeched from the door, making George's body take a screenshot. He was holding a water bottle which he shoved into George's once he stomped over to him and then pointed at the laptop on his lap, his eyes narrowing to slits. "No laptop for you, mister. It is nappy time."

"What took you so long to get the water bottle," George chuckled slightly as he opened it to take a few sips.

"Oh yea, I kind of got distracted with some pretzels I found in the pantry, because I thought we had ran out, so then I started rummaging through the-" Karl cut off before glaring at George when he realized he was snickering over the fact that he had been able to change the subject for a second and Karl had fallen for it. "That's not important! You need sleep!"

"I know, I know, I promise I will rest after I finish responding to these emails," George explained, drawing the laptop a bit nearer to his chest and away from Karl's sight. "I'm, um, responding to some teachers." He felt bad for lying, but how was he supposed to explain that a stranger had started emailing him out of the blue and he continued to go along with it? It was a long story, anyway, and he would tell Karl about it eventually.

One day, maybe. Just not right now.

"Alright, fine, but once you're done you better be in your jammies and passed out, you hear me?" Karl fake scolded like a parent, pointing two of his fingers at his own eyes before turning them to George, which George found amusing even as he accepted the conditions. Karl walked back out of the room, saying something about digging into those pretzels, which allowed George to turn his attention back to the new email he had just received in his inbox.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

You can call me Dream. And I promise I will reveal to you who I am one day, but for now, allow me to indulge in this little mysterious person thing I have going on. It's kind of fun, if I'm being honest. I feel like a superhero, with the secret identity stuff, not the saving the day stuff.

Fine you don't have to admit it, I already know you missed me,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

can you at least tell me your pronouns or something..? if you're comfortable with mind me asking, of course

I did not.

Reply Forward

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to me

Georgenotfound,

Woah. First of all, you have my respect for asking in such a respectable way. Not enough people have the basic human decency to, so I'm glad you're one of the few that do. It means my first impression of you wasn't off at all. I'm glad :)

Secondly, does it matter what my gender is? Would that change things?

You totally missed me btw,  
Dream

Reply Forward

George felt his eyebrows furrow together, his teeth unconsciously chewing lightly on his lip.

Dream's gender didn't change much, it just revealed to George whether the person he was emailing was a girl, boy, or whatever else they identified with. It definitely narrowed down Dream's identity a lot, not that George was actively trying to figure out who this person was.

It might explain some messages, though, like the cute comment. Maybe it was one of the girls that was pursuing him? George wasn't entirely oblivious, he was aware girls were talking about him amongst themselves, he felt gazes strained on him a lot throughout the day as it was. So it was possible, but what if it was a guy? It could have just been a passing remark, or maybe a guy that was interested? George would have to let them down easy, if that were the case, since he didn't happen to swing that way.

He decided that for now it didn't really matter, because it could just be the way this person expressed themselves. He wasn't going to overthink it any further.

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

thanks for thinking so, I guess

your gender doesn't really matter or change things by the way, I'm mostly just curious

also stop.

Reply Forward

The response took longer to come in this time, but when it did and George read up to the very last line that he almost missed, he felt his heart stutter to a stop.

George slammed the laptop shut. He ignored the embarrassed blush that flushed his cheeks pink as he moved it back to the night stand beside him, his mind swarmed with a million thoughts as he dragged his hand down his face and sighed.

He needed sleep.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Why do you look like that?"

Clay's attention turned to his doorway where Wilbur was standing, leaning a bit on the wall beside him. Clay tilted his head slightly in question.

"What do you mean?"

"You were grinning all wide just now, and your cheeks are kind of red," Wilbur motioned at his own face with his finger, as if to emphasize his point. Clay felt his face warm slightly more at the call out as he coughed awkwardly.

"O-Oh, I am? I didn't notice..." he admitted, quickly putting his phone down beside where he was half leaning on the headboard of his bed.

"Who were you talking to, anyway," Wilbur asked innocently, before smiling slyly. "Was it a girl?"

"No, no, I wasn't talking to, um, anyone," Clay said quickly, feeling embarrassed that Wilbur thought his reactions were to a girl's texts when that couldn't be more wrong. "Just, looking through my Twitter feed."

"Mmhmm, right," Wilbur drawled unconvinced, but before Clay could get another word in he had walked back down the hallway with a smile playing at his lips. Clay huffed, grabbing his phone and rereading the message displayed on his screen.

He began typing a response.

He got a sudden wave of confidence, and decided to add a bold statement at the very end, his heart drumming too fast in his chest as he clicked send.

He fell backwards on his bed to lie down fully, his phone atop his chest as he closed his eyes and sighed.

He was acting like this because of the events of the day before. He was taken out of the loop, and he suddenly didn't know how to act. Technoblade's reasoning had made sense to him.

Right?

He placed a hand over his mouth and ignored the stupid smile that made its way onto his face under it as he thought about the boy that had been suddenly filling his mind for the past 24 hours.

No other reason.

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to georgenotfound@gmail.com

Georgenotfound,

Guess you'll have to continue being curious, cause I just now decided I won't tell you. Makes things more interesting, I think ;)

Also I saw you in between classes today. You looked like you were having a nasty hungover, or like you didn't get sufficient sleep, so I'll leave you now so you can get some rest. Karl's party's are cool but take it easy. Party hard, but don't party too hard next time, alright? I don't like seeing you all drained.

I'll email you tomorrow,  
Dream

P.S. whether you missed me or not, I missed you.

Reply Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg what, Clay is Dream?? Dream is CLay??? Wild.
> 
> Sorry for the almost late update, I kept my promise of updating latest within 7 days, but it came out slower this time because I had accidentally deleted the whole chapter and had to rewrite it. Pain. Hope you guys enjoyed it anyhow.
> 
> Also what. This story has over 800 reads on Wattpad but on here it has hit over 3000 hits that is insane I just- thank you??? This is crazy I love every single one of you guys.
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George and Clay hang out.

"Georgenotfound!"

George whipped his head around at the sound of footsteps nearing closer and a familiar voice calling his name. He spotted Clay among the crowd of people in the hallway as he wove through them, his eyes trained on George and an easy smile lighting up his face as he drew closer.

"Hey," George responded as the boy finally caught up to him, before Clay suddenly grabbed his arm and started dragging him the opposite way he was going.

"Wha-"

"Did George just get kidnapped," he heard Tubbo say behind him.

"Hey bitch, give us back George! I need him to attract all the women!" Tommy called out a second later. George glanced back at the group he had been walking with, being Wilbur, Niki, Tubbo and Tommy, who had stopped and were watching as Clay continued to pull him away from them.

"Sorry guys, I'm going to borrow him today! Have a nice lunch!" Clay called with a smile evident in his voice as he rounded a corner, leaving the group behind them and out of sight.

"Clay, what-" George turned to look up at Clay, only to find him already glancing back at him with a look he couldn't quite read. The taller boy looked away quickly, but kept his grip on George's wrist as he continued to lead them to wherever it was they're going.

"Sorry for sort of kidnapping you back there, but you're hanging out with us today!" Clay finally said as a sort of explanation, though George stayed as confused as before.

"Us?"

Clay only glanced back at him for a second with a smile too mischievous for George's comfort before they reached two large double doors. Clay pushed one open with the hand not still holding George in a death grip, leading him out of the building.

George squinted a bit at the sudden change of lighting from the sun's direct rays, realizing they were walking to the back of the school, somewhere he had yet to see himself. His eyes widened as a tall hedge wall spreading for several kilometers came into view.

"I didn't know the school had a place like this," George commented as Clay lead him to a section where the hedge suddenly stopped for a couple of feet before continuing, as if an entrance to within. Clay finally stopped in front of it, letting go of George and turning to face him. George tilted his head up to meet the other's eyes.

"What?" George asked a little nervously at the intensity of Clay's gaze. Suddenly, Clay whipped around and bolted through the entrance, making a turn out of sight. George stood shell shocked, his mouth open in confusion.

"Come and find me, George!" George heard Clay call from within, his voice getting farther. George looked around the place, turning back towards the building and finding that nobody else was near the area, before huffing and running in after him.

He turned the way Clay had, making another turn left before meeting two separate paths going different ways.

Then it hit George.

"Is this a maze?!" George screeched in alarm. He heard a cackle followed by a wheeze somewhere ahead, so George bolted towards the sound, running down paths he thought were right and reaching several dead ends, making him have to quickly retrace his steps and try another path.

He could barely hear the sound of Clay's footsteps somewhere in the maze, as well as his laughter and wheezes, which was the only thing George could try to follow. Even with that bit of help, he didn't know where he was going, running down whichever way his instincts told him to.

"Clay!" he yelled, getting frustrated when he was met with another wall of bushes, signaling another dead end.

"Ohhh Georgeeeee!" he heard him call back somewhere to his right. He dashed towards the sound, making turns left and right before making a left turn to a clearing within the maze.

He halted, his eyes widening as he took in the sight before him.

In the space at the center of the hedge maze was a large, glass dome building, what appeared to be some sort of habitat filled with trees and flowers of all sorts lining the walls inside. There was a walkway entering the place with a door in front of the small tunnel leading inside. George tentatively walked up to the door, opening it and closing it behind him before walking down the small hall to the second door, leading inside the dome.

He opened it slowly before letting out a gasp.

The trees lining the walls, along with flower beds and vines, had been covering the view of the inside. There was a garden of sorts set up in a semi circle, with tomatoes, carrots, and other vegetables being grown, a bench on either side of where the garden ended on both George's right and left.

And in the very center stood Clay, a large smile that made his eyes crinkle directed at George as he watched him take it all in.

Their eyes met, and Clay lifted a hand to point upwards. George looked up to see something fly by just above them.

Butterflies.

Dozens of butterflies were flying around the place, landing on the plants to rest before continuing their dance above their heads.

George didn't know how he didn't notice them earlier.

"Holy shit," George muttered as he continued looking around. He heard Clay let out a breathy laugh, walking up closer to where George was still standing, his mouth agape.

"The school put this together last year for a festival during spring, but was only ever used that one time. There's a gardening club that tends to the vegetables and fruits growing here along with all the plants, but since the place was crazy expensive to put together and the maze hedge is a burden to keep, they're going to tear it all down at the end of the year and use the space for something else. Probably portable classrooms or something," Clay explained, following George's gaze to look around the dome building as well.

"At the end of the year..." George repeated before turning to look at Clay. "So it's being torn down around the time I will be going back to England." Clay met his gaze, something almost sad flashing in his eyes before it was gone so fast George doubted it was even there to begin with.

"Yeah. You're going to be here the last six months they're going to keep it up," Clay nodded, leaning back a bit and tilting his head back to look up. George mimicked his movements, looking up at the sky seen through the glass and the butterflies flapping around in the space between them.

"Why did you take me here?" George asked as he moved to sit on one of the benches. Clay watched him, but stayed where he was standing. He shrugged one shoulder, a small smile playing at his lips.

"I wanted to be the one to show you this place. I'm glad nobody beat me to it," he grinned, his voice carrying a slight joking tone but his eyes looking at George with too much softness for his statement to be entirely dishonest.

George hummed slightly, ignoring the light fluttering in his chest.

"Earlier you said 'us.' That I was going to be hanging out with 'us.' Is someone else coming?"

Clay shook his head, finally moving to take a seat besides George. George turned to look at Clay's profile.

"Then? Where is everyone?" George asked, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. Clay tilted his head to look at him, a smile still present on his lips.

"They're already here," he said as he pointed at something beside George's head. George turned to look only to startle the butterfly that was perched on a leaf beside him, George and Clay's gaze following it as it fluttered to a flower on the other side of the room.

"The butterflies," George deadpanned.

"The butterflies, George."

George felt a soft laugh escape him as he shook his head, turning to Clay to see the boy already watching him.

"That's so dumb."

"You're dumb," Clay quipped with a smile. George rolled his eyes.

"And you're mean," George added, lifting a finger as if beginning to count Clay's flaws.

"You love me, George," Clay smiled smugly. George felt a sense of deja vu at his words, his mind bringing him back to the party from two days prior.

"It's still only been like, 5 days, Clay," he responded, bringing his legs up to his chest to rest his head slightly, his arms wrapping around them. Clay scoffed.

"That's already like two more days than last time, though," he countered, making George roll his eyes at him, but he knew he was smiling.

"Whatever you say, Clay," George chuckled as he turned his attention to a butterfly that fluttered right in front of him.

"You didn't deny it."

"Shut up," George huffed as he shoved Clay's shoulder, who let out a wheeze at his reaction.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, by the way. You looked like someone ran over your cat yesterday," Clay chuckled. George shoved him again, but lighter this time.

"Yeah, and you were acting like I was the plague or something. You were already acting weird in the morning, all jumpy and stuff, but during the day I'm pretty sure you spotted me twice and immediately bolted in the opposite direction."

"Wha- I did nOt!" Clay practically squeaked, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"Don't pretend like you didn't, you totally did, I saw you," George laughed as Clay pouted and crossed his arms, turning his head away from him, probably to hide his reddening face.

"Not true. It was the hangover making you see things," Clay insisted.

"Then why is your face all red," George quipped as he lifted a finger to poke Clay's cheek. The other flinched and drew his face back the instant contact was made, swatting his hand away, his eyes going big and a little crazed.

"Don't do that," he muttered. George lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Don't do what? This?" George quickly poked his cheek again before he could react or stop him, causing Clay to draw back further and let out a sort of strangled sound.

"Yes, that," he hissed, putting his hands on the form of an X in front of his face as if to protect it from George.

"Why," George asked innocently, going to poke at Clay's side this time. Clay let out a yelp, flinching away from the touch, before they both froze. Their eyes slowly met, and George watched as Clay's face paled while his smile only grew.

"Clay...are you ticklish?" George asked slowly. Clay furrowed his eyebrows, scooting away from George.

"George, do not-"

George jumped at Clay, his hands falling to tickle at his sides. Clay's body immediately lurched forward, his arms trying to grasp George's arms to stop him as laughter that dissolved into wheezes poured out of him.

"George, please stop I can't-" Clay barely managed to let out between wheezing laughter that was beginning to get a little too wheezy. George stopped tickling him, lifting his hands in surrender.

"Woah, was I about to kill you just now," George asked as Clay recovered from the tickle attack. His statement only made him burst out laughing, though, so at least if Clay did die from wheezing too hard, it wouldn't be by George's hand.

"Jesus Christ, you're so dumb. I almost peed my pants," Clay laughed as he began calming down. George gave him an unamused look.

"You really need to think of better insults, you can't just be calling me dumb every time. Where's your creativity, Clay?" George joked, tapping Clay's head with his knuckle before leaning towards it a bit. "Hello? Anything in there?"

"You're such an idiot," Clay laughed again, swatting him away. George leaned back, a smile he couldn't resist making his cheeks hurt.

"I'm starting to regret kidnapping you today, Georgenotfound," Clay joked, before turning to look down at his feet, his smile softening a bit. "I almost didn't, actually."

"Then why did you?" George asked curiously. Clay met his gaze, one corner of his mouth quirking up.

"Honestly, I want us to be friends," he admitted with an almost shy smile. George felt that weird fluttering in his chest again.

"You didn't think we were friends before?" George teased, watching with amusement as Clay's face flushed slightly as he scrambled to explain himself and say he didn't mean it like that. George chuckled, cutting Clay off. "I'm just teasing you. It would be cool to be friends."

Clay smiled wider now. He seemed to smile a lot, and yet George never got tired of seeing it for some reason. It was like his whole face lit up, kind of like a Christmas tree in the middle of the night. It was nice to look at, and you couldn't help but smile just from looking at it.

"Cool," Clay said, before his smile faltered and he cleared his throat, looking away. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, so George lightly tapped his shoulder against Clay's.

"What is it?"

"Oh no, just," Clay sucked in a breathe before grabbing something in his pocket and holding it out to George. George looked down at the small slip of paper before looking back up at Clay questioningly. He shifted uncomfortably, his face dusting pink as he refused to meet his eye. "Well...I have a game today after school. A football game, I mean. I was wondering if you wanted to come watch, maybe? I had this extra ticket, it was originally for my older sister but she won't be able to make it, and my younger siblings don't usually come to my games so I thought I could give it to you. But you don't have that sport over there in the UK, so you might not be interested, so it's okay if you don't want to go, I can just give the ticket to someone else-"

"Clay, I'll come," George cut in before he could continue spiraling. He took hold of the ticket, Clay flicking his eyes back up to look at George and then down at their hands, releasing the ticket and watching George take it, his eyes big.

"Really?" he asked as if he didn't quite believe him. George rolled his eyes.

"Yes, really. I'll be there, so don't embarrass yourself in front of me," George joked as he stuffed the ticket in one of his jean pockets. Clay laughed a bit, and George relaxed at seeing a smile back on his face.

"Oh, I definitely won't. Not to brag, but I kick ass in football."

"When you're not having a tantrum, maybe."

"Shut up," Clay burst out laughing, shoving George lightly who snickered in response.

"Too soon?" George chuckled a bit. Clay sighed, shaking his head fondly before the two fell into a comfortable silence, their eyes following the fluttering of the butterflies as they continued their dance around the two.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George hung out with Clay for the rest of lunch period until they practically had to sprint to class because they forgot to check the time. They ended up being seconds away from being counted late.

"Where the honk were you," Karl and Sapnap hissed at the same time when he got to his seat just as the bell rang. George was a little taken aback by how in sync the two had sounded.

"I was with-"

"And don't say you were with your British friends either, cause I asked Tommy where you were and he said you got kidnapped! What the honk, dude, I was worried!" Karl whisper yelled as the class began and people were beginning to quiet down.

"I wasn't going to say I was with them, I was going to say I was with-"

"Hold on, dude, Clay wasn't with us either today," Sapnap cut in this time, his statement directed at Karl. Karl nodded, muttering a "true, true" just as George huffed in annoyance.

"Will you two stop interrupting me? I've been trying to tell you guys I was with Clay the whole lunch period!" George finally managed to get out. He spoke a little too loudly, though, and he had to glance apologetically at people who turned to look his way. Sapnap snapped his fingers.

"Of course! Clay is always with us during lunch, like, all the time. Dude has no life," Sapnap explained, earning a chuckle from Karl. "Well okay, unless he gets into a fight with someone in the group, but me and him already made up, and he hasn't gotten into any fights with the other boys lately. He only ever used to leave the group to hang out with his ex whenever she wanted to, but that was months ago and since they split he's been hanging with us everyday."

"Trueee," Karl agreed, but his expression showed he didn't know where this was going. Sapnap scrunched his eyebrows a bit in thought before his face lit up in realization.

"That could explain his sudden interest, and why he was acting really weird yesterday, especially around-" Sapnap cut himself off, glancing for a second at George before shaking his head. "Nah, I'm probably overthinking this. There's no way."

"There's no way what?" George asked. Karl was looking between the two, also not understanding what Sapnap was referring to.

"Nah, it's probably nothing. I'll just ask Clay about it later," Sapnap said with a tone of finality, turning his body to the front of the classroom to show that the conversation was over. George overheard Sapnap mutter something about someone asking for an email, but he wasn't sure he heard him right so he turned his attention back to the front of the classroom, his head replaying the last few minutes as he attempted to figure out what Sapnap had meant.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Oh and George, there's going to be a football game later today. You should come, I'm going to be kicking ass," Sapnap declared proudly as everyone moved out of the classroom now that the bell had rung. Karl pouted beside him.

"What about me, Sap?"

"You know you're always invited, Karl. And I already gave you my plus one so why are you complaining," Sapnap sighed as he wrapped an arm around Karl's shoulder, who giggled in response. He turned to George again. "So you're coming, right? It starts at 7 and it might last around 3 hours."

"Yeah, I'm coming."

"Okay cool, you can buy a ticket at the front office. They're about 5 bucks which is a little expensive but I promise it's worth it-"

"They're 5 bucks?" George asked, his eyes widening a bit. "Is that like, almost 4 pounds?"

"I think so," Karl spoke up. Sapnap watched as George looked down in thought, biting his lip slightly.

"If you want, I can get you a ticket for you, I don't mind," Sapnap offered, but George shook his head.

"No, no it's not that. I already have a ticket," George explained before he began walking away, probably to his next class, but Sapnap stopped him by grabbing his shoulder, turning George around as Sapnap raised an eyebrow at him.

"Wait, you already have a ticket?" Sapnap repeated. George nodded as he pulled out the ticket from his pocket, Karl letting out a whistle.

"Georgieeee, did you get invited to the game by a girlllll~?" Karl sing songed. Sapnap was going to join in on the teasing when he got a good look of the ticket he was holding. Hold on, that wasn't one of the regular tickets-

"Clay gave me the ticket," George admitted. Sapnap's eyes widened, which made George rush to explain. "He said his sister wasn't going to make it, so he had an extra ticket and gave it to me. I just didn't realize it was 5 dollars. I should pay him back, right?"

"I mean, he gave you the ticket so I'm pretty sure he doesn't expect you to pay him back. But do whatever you feel is right, Gogy," Karl gave him a thumbs up, before turning towards Sapnap and taking in his expression. "What is it, Sap?"

"No, it's nothing," Sapnap waved him off. He knows his expression probably looked confused, so he put on an easy smile. "C'mon, gang, we have a class to get to."

"Oh shoot you're right. Let's go, Gogy!" Karl agreed, walking away with George in the direction of their class. "Bye, Sap!"

"Bye, Sapnap," George echoed. Sapnap saluted the two before walking the opposite way, his gears turning.

What is Clay up to?

First he asks for his email, then he and George do who knows what at the party and end up passed out on George's bed, then he started acting weird around George for like a day, then today he spends the entirety of their lunch period together when he usually hangs out with their group.

Now he gives his plus one to George, saying it had been for his sister that lives across the continent and hasn't visited in months? He knew it was his plus one ticket because those given exclusively to the football team looked different from regular tickets. Plus, what about Wilbur? He could at least give it to the exchange student he's hosting, so why George?

Sapnap scrunched his eyebrows together in thought as he walked into his next class, spotting Clay at his usual table beside the window.

He was sitting backwards in his chair, chatting with Technoblade who sat behind him, Clay's hands waving around animatedly while Techno stared at him with a bored expression. Sitting beside Techno was Wilbur, who seemed entirely entranced on the topic of conversation, and Alex beside Wilbur in his usual spot, who cut in to the conversation to point something out before Clay and Alex burst out laughing, Wilbur smiling slightly while Techno face palmed at whatever he had said.

Sapnap moved to their area to his spot in front of Wilbur and beside Clay, saying hello to Punz and Jack Manifold as he passed by their seats more near the front. Alex spotted him first.

"Heyyyyy, what's popping!" he greeted loudly, bringing the other two's attention to him. Techno briefly nodded at him in acknowledgement as Wilbur echoed a smaller "hello" while Clay swiveled back around in his chair to face him as he sat down beside him.

"Hey," Clay grinned, but Sapnap could tell the smile was a little forced and there was a twinge of nervousness pinching his features.

"Hey, Clay," Sapnap responded, raising one eyebrow slightly as Clay shrunk a bit in his seat. "So where were you during lunch?"

"Oh shit, just going to ask straight up. Tearing the bandaid right off, are we," Alex laughed and bounced in his seat, looking between the two and apparently enjoying himself. Techno leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms and looking at the two as well, probably curious as to where this would lead despite his attempt to seem as though he could care less. Wilbur glanced at Techno's reaction before turning to look between Sapnap and Clay curiously.

The bell rang just then, and Clay let out a low whistle.

"I would love to chat more, but it appears class has begun!" he said smugly as he swiveled in his seat to look towards the front. Sapnap narrowed his eyes at him.

"...after class," Clay muttered when he realized Sapnap wasn't backing down, speaking so softly that Sapnap wasn't even sure if he had heard him right at first. He nodded then, giving in and turning to face the front as well.

Oh, he was definitely getting to the bottom of this.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The second the bell rung, Sapnap immediately collected his stuff and got up, grabbing hold of Clay by his wrist and dragging him out of the classroom.

"Ooooh, someone's in troubleee," he heard Alex laugh behind him.

"Oh, Clay-" he heard someone else, by the heavy British accent he assumed was Wilbur, start, but was cut off by another voice.

"They probably want to talk privately. I can walk you to your next class," Sapnap heard Techno cut in before they were out of earshot and in the hallway. He whipped around then to stare at Clay, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow as people rushed past the two. The two waited until everyone filed out of the classroom before Clay finally spoke up.

"I was with George," Clay said guiltily, as though he were admitting to his mom he stole a cookie from the kitchen. Sapnap rolled his eyes.

"I know. George told me."

"He did?"

"Yup."

"What...what else did he say?" Sapnap watched as Clay flicked his gaze away, shifting from foot to foot in a nervous manner.

Why was he acting like this?

"I don't know, was there something else he needed to mention?" Sapnap said instead, his eyes flickering over Clay's pinched expression. He wanted to hear Clay say it for himself, but instead he let out a strained laugh.

"No, no of course not. We just hung out."

"Liar."

Clay whipped his gaze back up to meet Sapnap's, his eyes widening in surprise.

"What?"

"You gave him your plus one to the game," Sapnap finally revealed the last bit of information George had given him, taking a step forward and jabbing Clay in the chest with his finger. "And you told him it was a ticket you were going to give your sister that won't be visiting until spring break. What was the point of lying about that? You could have just told him it was your plus one. Plus, what about Wilbur? Your exchange student? Aren't you going to give him a ticket, too?"

"Well I-" Clay started stammering, but he wasn't done.

"And since when do you lie to me?" Sapnap asked, his voice breaking a bit at the end. Clay looked down at him with a pained and guilty expression. "You've been acting weird since the party. You won't tell me what happened between spin the bottle and you passing out in bed with George. You've been acting weird around the guy since then, and now you're running off with him doing who knows what and you're not telling me anything! I thought we tell each other everything, Clay."

"We do-"

"Well clearly not, because you're leaving me out of the loop on this new friendship you have going on with George. If it even is a friendship," he muttered the last bit, but Clay heard him as clearly as if he had shouted it. He took a step back as if he had slapped him, his eyes narrowing.

"What's that supposed to mean."

"I don't know, Clay. Look, I've known you since middle school, and I know you. The way you've been acting around George..." Sapnap trailed off when he saw a sudden flash of fear in Clay's eyes. He could practically see Clay closing in on himself in front of his very eyes, and Sapnap's voice caught in his throat as it finally hit him.

"Are you going to finish your sentence?" Clay asked, but Sapnap could hear the slight quiver in his voice as though he feared that he would.

Had Clay come to the same realization Sapnap did?

There's no way he was this dense. He had to have realized, or had started questioning it at the very least.

Or was he trying to convince himself otherwise?

"I...I don't know where I was going with that," Sapnap lied instead, for Clay's sake or his own, he didn't know. Saying it out loud would make it real, and by the expression clouding Clay's face at the moment, he didn't seem to want it to. "Look, point is it sucks not knowing what's going on with you. So I just wish you could talk to me, man, at least about this. I don't want this to be a repeat of the accident."

Clay flinched slightly at the mention of it, but began stammering out, "Yeah, I get that. I'm sorry, I just..." Clay seemed to be struggling to find the right words, so Sapnap put a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to meet his gaze again.

"You know I won't judge you for anything, and I love you no matter what, right? Nothing will change that," Sapnap said softly. Clay's eyes softened as he nodded, encouraging Sapnap continue. "If you don't want to talk about it, like you didn't want to talk about the accident, I get it. Just tell me and I'll back off."

"No, it's not that, I just need...time," Clay sighed, rubbing a hand tiredly at his eye. "I need to sort my thoughts out first, figure out what the hell is even going on in my head before I can start even trying to say...any of it...out loud."

They both realized what he meant by "any of it," but neither said it out loud.

"I'll wait until you're ready. Just, once you are, I hope you don't hesitate to talk to me. I'm here for you, always."

"Thank you, Sapnap, I really appreciate it," Clay smiled genuinely now, making Sapnap smile in return.

"Anything for you, brother."

And the two embraced, unspoken words drifting languidly above their heads, waiting for the day they could finally be said aloud.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay was walking up to his next classroom to find Techno and Wilbur standing by the doorway, deep in conversation. His eyes widened when he saw Techno pull out his plus one ticket and hand it to Wilbur, who took it and smiled widely before patting his shoulder in a friendly manner. Clay was surprised to see Techno not pull away from the touch like he usually would with new people, and instead say something in return, an almost ghost-of-a smile playing on his lips before he turned and walked away.

Wilbur noticed Clay then, flashing him a wide smile he hadn't seen often on the British boy's face.

"Look Clay, I got an invite to your game! I'm going to get to watch that sport you Americans get into so many arguments over," Wilbur grinned, waving Techno's plus one ticket. He felt guilty then that he hadn't been the one to give him a ticket to the game, just as Sapnap had called him out for before.

"I was going to get you a ticket," Clay said, but Wilbur waved him off as they entered the classroom.

"It's okay, Dave had already told me he would give me his plus one days ago. He would have beat you to it, one way or another." Clay was surprised to hear this, especially the fact that this was the second time he had called Techno by name, but he didn't comment on it.

"Oh. That's great, then," Clay answered as the two sat down in their seats. He said hi to a few people in the classroom, including Bad who sat in the seat in front of him, and Tommy and Tubbo who were in the seats beside him and in front of Wilbur. Tommy and Wilbur began arguing about something, Bad cutting in any time a profanity was said, but he tuned them out, turning to stare out of the window beside him.

A bird flew down to land on the branch of a tree outside. He watched as it ruffled its white wings a bit, hopped around before taking flight again. Clay sighed.

He was still replaying Sapnap and his conversation in his head. He always felt guilty hiding things from him, but he didn't know how he would even begin to explain any of it. It felt special to him, somehow, and if he said any of it out loud he felt it would all just go up in smoke.

Poof, gone.

He rested his head on his arms, his mind swimming.

He thought of George.

How he had this overwhelming feeling of wanting to get closer to the boy. How he felt so safe around him, despite him knowing the secrets locked inside of the deepest nooks and crannies in his mind he had yet to open for anyone else.

He thought of his smile. Of his soft laugh.

"The way you've been acting around George..."

Sapnap's words echoed in his mind as he finally allowed himself to acknowledge the fluttering he had begun to feel around the British boy.

How his heart rate seemed to speed up like it usually did at the start of one of his football games, full of adrenaline and excitement and anticipation.

How his cheeks would heat up in embarrassment when George would tease him back, something that didn't seem to happen around anyone else.

How he suddenly began overthinking his actions around him when he was usually so sure of himself and in everything he did.

"The way you've been acting around George..."

He hated that Sapnap knew him well enough, and Clay knew Sapnap well enough to know exactly what he was going to say. Clay squeezed his eyes shut, the unspoken end of that phrase echoing loudly in his mind.

"...was the same way you acted around Sam."

Clay didn't pay attention for the rest of class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big fat chapter to make up for the fact I was gone for so long. Had originally only meant to take a break for a week but due to finals and getting my grades wrapped up right before winter break it extended more than I meant to, but I'm officially back to weekly uploads!
> 
> This is the turning point in the story where we finally start to see some feelings bubbling underneath the surface maybe?
> 
> This story has hit over 5k hits now which is absolutely insane! Thank you all so much for the support, I love reading all the comments you guys have left me, they're such a great motivator :]
> 
> Also, I have a Twitter and Instagram if you guys want to follow me on other platforms I'm more active in! I like to draw as well, and have posted my works on there :] check me out @ kirbakiii (notice the three i's) and lmk if you came from this book! Would love to interact with you all <3
> 
> This got stupidly long lmao so I'm ending the author's note here, sorry for boring you guys! And as always, remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated <33
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The football game (1/2)

George was silently looking outside the passenger seat window, his elbow resting on it with his chin on his hand, watching as trees and buildings zipped by before disappearing from sight. Bumps in the road would make him jump and lose his grip every once in a while, making him fumble awkwardly before going back to his still posture, contradictory to his racing thoughts.

The game would be in a few hours. He didn't know why, but now that school had ended and they were heading home to get ready for it, he was starting to feel nervousness etching in the back of his mind.

He didn't know what to expect. He didn't even really know how these games worked. Would he have to cheer? For Sapnap? Clay? Who else was on the football team that would be playing today? Was he going to have to sit on a bench the whole game and just watch a sport he didn't even fully understand?

Not that he didn't want to. Or really, he wasn't even sure if the reason why he was suddenly so nervous was because he didn't want to watch the game, or because he might get bored.

George didn't like not knowing what to expect. That's what made him nervous now that an event in which he didn't know what the outcome would be or how it would go was drawing near.

And yet, when Clay had offered him the ticket, he had been on board immediately. Maybe even a little excited, though he would never admit that.

"Are you excited, Georgie?"

George whipped his head toward Karl, startled by the question and seriously wondering if he was a mind reader. His eyes were still on the road ahead of them, but there was an easy smile playing on his lips.

"What do you mean?" George said instead, eyeing Karl warily. The other boy didn't seem to notice the hesitance in his question as he shrugged one shoulder, glancing for a second in his direction with a smile.

"You don't have this type of football over there in the U.K., right? So this is your first game!" Karl grinned boyishly as he slowed the car to a stop, waiting for the light to turn green. He turned to fully look at George now. "You must be excited, right?"

"I mean...I guess," George answered slowly, drumming his fingers against his lap. He thought back to the time he sat with his friends during lunch on the bleachers in the football field and got front row seats to the football team's practice and Clay's temper tantrum. He didn't mention it, though. "I guess I'm mostly nervous. I really don't know what to expect. I don't even know what you wear to one of these things."

"A crop top and a tiny skirt, duh," Karl answered automatically as he turned his eyes towards the row again once the light turned green, setting the car into motion. He glanced to take in George's baffled expression before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"You were joking. Of course you were," George rolled his eyes as the other calmed down from his laugh attack.

"No, no, George, I am being completely serious right now. We are dressing up as cheerleaders, you and me. We're going to be Sap and Clay's personal cheerleaders." And then in a ridiculously high pitched voice, Karl began chanting to an invisible audiences. "S! A! P-N-A-P! You love Sapnap and so do we! C! L! A! Y! You love Clay and so do I!"

"Only you?" George asked, amused. Karl huffed.

"If I said 'we' it wouldn't have rhymed, George. C'mon, you're supposed to know this as Clay and Sapnap's personal cheerleader."

"Right, you're right. Must've skipped that part in the cheerleader manual," George joked, making Karl snicker. "You still haven't told me what I'm supposed to wear, though."

"Don't worry, Gogy, I will dress you in the finest linen in all the land. You will be the best looking guy there. Every lady within a 5 meter radius will take one look at you and instantly fall head over heels madly in love, mark my word."

George laughed a bit and shook his head, turning to look back out the window. "Okay, Karl. Whatever you say."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The next few hours after arriving home, George felt like he was stuck modeling for a fashion show. He had thrown on a random short and a pair of pants, but the second Karl glanced his way, he gasped like he had laid eyes on the most grotesque thing to ever exist and began demanding he change into an actually "decent fit."

Karl then proceeded to squabble about his terrible sense in fashion after going through practically all the clothes he had brought with him and deemed them all embarrassments to the fashion industry. In the middle of searching through his clothe,s George realized he was missing a hoodie and a pair of pant, but when he mentioned it to Karl he just made a joke saying "good riddance," so George decided he would look for it later. Karl then took it upon himself to share some of his own clothes with George, and they spent another hour having George try on different things until they found one that fit.

"Twirl for me," Karl smiled teasingly, flicking his finger in a circular motion. George rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to twirl for you," he laughed a bit, but moved to look at himself in the the large mirror propped up in the living room.

He was wearing a white button-up shirt under a dark, navy sweater, and black, semi-loose pants with a pair of white converse.

"Now that's a fit," Karl said proudly. "I have so many better fits, of course, but you're so tiny they look like dresses on you."

"Shut up," George huffed and shoved Karl lightly, who let out a string of giggles before beginning to walk back towards his room upstairs.

"We'll be leaving in a bit, let me just finish getting changed!" Karl called as he ran up the stairs. George felt the nervousness he had been feeling in the car start creeping back, so he drew in a long breathe and let it out in a shaky sigh.

He couldn't just back out now.

He had promised Clay he would go, and he was planning on fulfilling that promise.

It's okay.

He could do this.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Dream < dreamwastaken@gmail.com >  
to georgenotfound@gmail.com

Georgenotfound.

Hey George! How have you been? There's a football game today, do you plan on going? I am, I heard it's going to be really good. The competition is fierce, but I'm sure our team will emerge victorious, as usual. We have one of the best teams in the city, so I really do think we will win this game.

Also, sorry if my last email was a little too direct, or if it made you uncomfortable. I'm also sorry for pushing you to say something you might not be comfortable saying, if it genuinely upset you please let me know and I promise to back off. I just really like talking to you, sorry if that sounds weird, but it's true.

Hoping things are okay between us,  
Dream

Reply Forward

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay was feeling the familiar rush of adrenaline he felt right before a game. He was bouncing from foot to foot, cracking his knuckles before moving to suit up in his football gear. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears, making his hands shake slightly even as he forced them to steady.

"Shake it off, Clay. Shake it off. We got this."

Clay grinned at Sapnap's words, turning to see him shaking his arms, then his whole body a bit, hopping from foot to foot. Clay copied his movements, attempting to shake out the nervousness he usually felt before a game but knowing it would remain present until the game actually began.

"Woo! Pre-game shimmy!" Skeppy came up beside them, mimicking their movements and making Sapnap chuckle as he moved to pull his kit over his head. Callahan grinned and wordlessly joined in, pulling a laugh out of Clay.

The locker room was noisy and bustling with activity, as it usually was whether there was a game or practice, but a special kind of buzz was always evident specifically for pre-games. The whole team was trying to shake off nerves in favor of hyping each other, and themselves, up.

"Have you guys seen Sam?" a voice behind them asked. Clay flinched involuntarily at the name before his mind reminded him which Sam they were referring to. He turned towards the voice, meeting the gaze of the taller blonde some ways behind him, his distinctive hetero chromatic eyes looking worried. "He's the only one missing."

"Mother fucker is late," Schlatt spoke up, rolling his eyes as he continued changing into his gear.

"He should be here soon, don't worry," Clay responded to Ranboo, who nodded a bit and returned to putting on his gear. He watched as Callahan silently patted Ranboo's back, probably as a means to tell him it would be alright. He had meant to ease Ranboo's worries, but now Clay felt a similar prick of nervousness as he glanced towards the locker room door.

"Dude, take your own advice," Sapnap laughed a bit and patted his back playfully, and Clay felt himself smile at how well the other boy could read him.

"Nerves are natural. It means you're ready to face a challenge and perform. So don't fight it, simply relish in it and morph it into something positive," Technoblade spoke up from his spot on the bench where he was tying his cleats. Clay grinned down at him.

"You always give good advice, Techno-"

"Besides, fear is a great motivator," Techno cut Clay off, grinning up at him, his sharp canines in full view and his eyes glinting darkly. Clay laughed a bit, albeit awkwardly.

"Techno, please take no offense to this but, sometimes you are just absolutely terrifying," Schlatt commented dryly. Techno turned to him before shrugging.

"Sam!" someone spoke up, and Clay resisted the urge to flinch this time. Sam walked in through the door, rushing to get his things together and get changed.

"Sorry I'm late, guys, I got the times mixed up," Sam huffed a bit out of breath, ruffling his brightly dyed green hair as he set his things down on a bench. Clay still wasn't sure how he was allowed to come to school like that.

"Didn't Coach email you the schedule?" he heard Skeppy ask. Sam's face scrunched up as he gave an explanation of his mix up, but Clay tuned them out after the mention of an email. He found himself picking up his phone, looking through his notifications for a specific one.

"What's up?" Sapnap asked, peering over his shoulder. Clay shut his phone off and opened his locker again to leave it in there before swinging it shut again.

"Nothing, I was just expecting an email," he said truthfully. Sapnap hummed, thankfully not pressing any further. It wasn't a big deal anyway, George was probably busy getting ready to come to the game and just didn't have time to respond to his email.

It didn't have anything to do with the last email he had sent him the day prior which may have been a little too forward and scared George away.

Probably.

"You ready, Clay?" Sapnap spoke up. Clay turned to him, nodding. He had been overthinking way too much all day long, but now wasn't the time for those lingering thoughts and doubts, or to be questioning...whatever it was he was feeling. He needed to focus on this game, so for now he would leave all thoughts of George aside.

"Let's do this."

As the football team began making their way out the locker room, Clay stepped weirdly and felt a jolt of pain shoot through his leg. He winced, having mostly forgotten about the wound he had gotten during the party in the forest behind Karl's house. It had mostly healed, but the wound was still there.

It was okay though, he was fine.

He could do this.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Is it always this noisy?"

"Oh yeah, always. Our school takes games really seriously because we have a lot of school spirit and all of that," Karl responded before reaching back into his bag of popcorn and popping a handful in his mouth. George could barely hear him over the commotion of the crowd, either sitting on the bleachers or walking around. Most of the bleacher's spots were already filled as it neared closer for the game to start.

"Karlosssss!" a distinct voice managed to yell over the bustle of the crowd.

"Hey, Alex," Karl responded. George turned to watch as the boy from spin the bottle, Alex "Quackity," maneuvered his way to sit beside Karl, stealing a bit of popcorn from his bag despite Karl's protests.

"Georgeeee, how you doing, man," he asked next, leaning in a little into Karl's space to look at George. George felt his lips pull up slightly.

"I'm doing good."

"That's good, dude, that's good," Alex pulled back then, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. "I legit took a fat nap before coming here, but I'm still feeling a little sluggish. You're going to have to make sure I don't fall asleep, Karl, so entertain me."

"I'm not good at entertaining," Karl responded. Alex whipped his head to look at him, his eyes narrowing.

"What the fuck do you mean you're not entertaining, man. You're one of the funnest people to be around at this school, that's why you host the best parties."

"Awee, Quackityyy," Karl giggled and side-hugged the smaller boy, Alex responding with a string of curses at the nickname. George tuned them out when he felt the bleachers shift again, and turned to see someone was now sitting at his other side. Blue filled his vision (though in reality, it was purple) and he felt himself startle.

"Oh, Minx," he blurted as the girl side eyed him. She grinned slightly, and George felt his face heating up slightly.

"Hello there, George."

She was wearing dark makeup that made her eyes pop, her hair styled into a ponytail with loose strands framing her face at the front. George noticed she was wearing some type of uniform, with a crop top and skirt with the school colors and a really oversized letterman jacket hanging loosely over it and covering her up. Before he could ask what the outfit was for, another, softer voice spoke up.

"Hi George!" Niki appeared from beside Minx, grinning softly, so George smiled back.

"Hey, Niki."

"Look Wilbur! I found your girlfriend, and her girlfriend!" Tommy shouted and pointed from a few rows down, before beginning to cackle as Wilbur smacked him upside the head. George caught sight of Tubbo beside the two, waving aggressively at him, so he waved back with a small grin. The three of them made their way towards them before moving to sit in the empty seats in the row behind them.

"I like your buns, Niki," Wilbur commented, patting the two panda buns of her blonde hair at the top of her head, the rest of her hair loose. George watched Minx attempt to hide her smirk by bringing a bottle of water up to her lips as Niki played with a strand of her hair, smiling up at the boy.

"Thanks, Wil, Minx helped me-"

"That's something incredibly inappropriate to say, Wilbur, have you no manners," Tommy cut in. Minx spit out the water she was drinking as Niki's smile fell, Wilbur's face dusting red.

"Tommy, I swear to fuck-" Tommy started cackling loudly as Wilbur grabbed him in a choke hold, the blonde boy squirming and attempting to escape, but to no avail. Minx had burst out laughing before falling into a coughing fit while Niki covered her face in embarrassment.

"Hey, woah, are you okay," George asked, his hands hovering over Minx's shaking shoulder as she continued to cough between laughter. She waved a hand in his direction, turning her face away from him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, just- the water-" she attempted explaining between coughs. George began patting her back lightly, for lack of knowing what else to do. That made Minx turn her gaze back to him, her big, light blue eyes meeting his own and drawing him in, George unable to look away.

"You know that doesn't actually help the coughing, right?" she said once she had stopped coughing, her mouth quirking up at the edges in amusement.

"I mean, you stopped coughing," George responded automatically. Minx's eyes widened a bit in surprise at his response, as if she hadn't expected it, before a full on smile lit up her face as she raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay, I see you George. You're a little smartass, huh," she chuckled a bit, leaning towards him and tilting her her head slightly. George felt himself swallowing roughly. "Bet you think you think you're hot shit too?"

"Not exactly..." George began, before he thought back to the party and their last interaction. He felt a smile pulling at his lips despite attempting to keep a straight face. "You were the one that thought I was the handsomest male in the room, remember?"

"Holy shit, George! You fucking killed her, dude!" he heard Alex start to laugh loudly behind him, having probably been eavesdropping on their conversation, followed by a long, drawn out "ooooh" from Karl. George watched with satisfaction as Minx pulled back slightly, her face flushing scarlet as she began stammering in the midst of her embarrassment.

"What- no that was just- I didn't- Oh, shut the hell up already, Quackity, it wasn't that funny!" Minx hissed at the boy who was practically bawling from laughter, so much so he didn't even bother rebuking the nickname. She turned back to George, who couldn't help but find it adorable how she was now pouting, her face still a bright red. "Whatever, George. I knew I should have picked the goat guy over you."

"Did you just call Schlatt 'the goat guy????'" Alex asked before losing it and laughing even harder. Karl had to hold on to Alex's back so he wouldn't accidentally fall backwards and into the space of someone behind him.

"Minx, I think someone is calling you," Niki spoke up quietly, tapping her shoulder before pointing down at the field. George looked in the direction she was pointing to spot a girl with bright, blue hair waving from a spot on the football field. She was wearing the same uniform Minx was, except she wasn't wearing a letterman jacket over it. She looked vaguely familiar, and George soon realized it was the same girl that had played spin the bottle and kissed Clay. Celestia, was it?

For some reason, looking at her now made something twist uncomfortably inside of George.

He ignored it.

"Oh shit, I was supposed to go back already but got," Minx glanced at George before quickly looking away again. "Distracted. Anyway I have to go, enjoy the game Niki, and," Minx looked over at Alex as she got up, her face screwing up in disgust. "Everyone else, I guess."

"Love you too, Minx," Alex rolled his eyes fondly, and George could tell Minx was trying to hold back a smile. She took off her letterman jacket and chucked it at Alex, who in the midst of his surprise was unable to stop it from hitting him smack in the face. "Hey!"

"Take care of that for me, it's Schlatt's," she rolled her eyes before she started walking away, glancing back one last time to flash a small, almost secret smile at George.

George felt his heart skip a beat.

"Damn Minx, you player! You going after the whole school now?" Alex called behind her. She flipped him off without turning around as she made her way down the bleachers, George unable to look away from her retreating back.

"Georgie, you're drooling~," Karl teased, elbowing him slightly. George finally snapped out of it, whirling around to look at him as he felt his face flush.

"I'm not, shut up," he huffed in exasperation, making Karl giggle as he started teasingly poking him while George attempted to make him stop. Alex gaped at him.

"Oh my god, George. Please tell me you're not interested in Minx," he nearly pleaded. George started sputtering.

"What-?! No no, I don't- I'm not that's- that's crazy," he stammered out. Karl looked unconvinced, a sly smile stretching his lips, while Alex gave him a deadpan look.

"George, out of all the girls, why Minx? Minx?? You could've picked like- I don't know, Celestia or something."

"No but Celestia likes Clay, remember?" Karl spoke up. Alex flicked his gaze at Karl, his eyes wide with surprise, before they went back to a normal size when he seemed to remember the events of the party.

"Oh shit that's true, I forgot they kissed at the party."

"Well, technically she kissed him," George blurted out without thinking. Karl and Alex looked at him with weird looks, and George felt like he wanted to dig up a 6 foot hole and burry himself there.

Why had he said that?

"I mean, same difference. They still kissed," Alex shrugged. George had to physically stop himself from spewing more nonsense by covering his mouth with his hand.

Why did he want to correct him so badly? Mention how Clay had looked after the kiss, as though he would have wanted to be anywhere but there at that moment?

Why was this bothering him this much?

"To be fair, Clay seemed really uncomfortable after it. He even left the room and everything," Karl pointed out. George felt the sudden urge to hug him, but refrained from going through with the action.

"Speaking of, what was that about, George?" Alex asked, turning the attention back to him. George blinked owlishly at the two.

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, how come he left the room all of a sudden? Was it really because of the kiss?" Karl added. George felt himself growing more and more confused, his eyebrows furrowing together.

"How am I supposed to know?" he responded. Karl and Alex shared a look.

"Well I mean, you did go after him, remember..?" Alex asked slowly, as if George was a little kid that wouldn't understand what he was asking. George was about to say he didn't go after him when a vague memory of getting up and leaving after Clay clouded his mind, but most of what happened after being blurry or completely blank.

"Shit, I don't...I don't remember," George admitted, placing a hand to his head as he tried to think. Remember. But everything afterwards seemed to have been erased from his memory, and the next thing he recalls clearly was waking up in different clothes the next morning with a terrible hangover. "I vaguely remember getting up and going after him, but after that I don't...I don't know..."

"Shit," Alex huffed under his breath. Karl seemed like he wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut in a tight line. Instead, Alex spoke up again. "Well I mean, you can ask Clay, since you went after him. He can probably fill you in on the stuff you don't remember, if you guys were really together during that chunk of time."

"Yeah, I guess I can ask him," George muttered, but he suddenly felt as though there was something really important he was forgetting, unable to shake the feeling away. He felt like he had a puzzle nearly complete, but was missing several of the pieces in different spots of it. Had something important happened between him chasing after Clay and waking up in his bed the next morning?

"I'm pretty sure you spent the rest of the party with Clay, so he'll fill you in," Karl finally said. George couldn't help but feel there was something else Karl knew but wasn't saying, but before he could ask music started playing from the field and everyone on the bleachers started yelling and cheering.

"I don't know what the fuck is happening, but I want to yell, too!" Tommy shouted behind him. George couldn't help but laugh at the way Tubbo and Tommy started whooping and hollering along with the crowd.

"Yeahhh baby lets go!! Let's go!!" Alex clapped excitedly as Karl whistled loudly. George turned his attention back to the field, noticing the football team huddled on one side. A group of girls that had the same uniform as Minx and Celestia made two lines, one facing their side and the others facing the opposite side where the opposing school was sitting. In front of the football team, a marching band was lined up, and George realized they were the ones playing the music.

They suddenly marched forward, between the 'tunnel' of girls, playing a song he didn't recognize. Karl briefly mentioned it was the school's fight anthem, so George watched as they dashed forward to the center of the field all while performing.

The beat of the music dropped, and suddenly smoke was shot into the air and the crowd was cheering even louder than the music itself as the school's football team ran in between the two lines, as though it were a runway, following after the marching band as each of the girls started doing flips towards the bleachers as the team members passed by them.

That's when it finally hit him.

They were cheerleaders.

"Minx is a cheerleader?!" George yelled over the noise. Alex started laughing, and Karl grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly.

"Yes, George, where have you been the past 10 minutes? She's even wearing a cheerleading outfit, get it together!" Karl said jokingly, and George couldn't help but smile bashfully back at him.

"Guys! I'm here, I'm here," someone yelled over the noise. George watched as Darryl, or Badboyhalo, made his way up the bleachers to them before sliding in to the spot where Minx had been sitting previously, beside George. "Hello there, Niki."

"Hi Bad!"

"Darryl," he reminded her, before turning to George with a big smile on his face. "Oh hi, Larry."

"Oh hi, Mark," George responded automatically. That pulled a laugh out of Bad, who covered his mouth and waved around.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to call you Larry, bad habit of mine. But that was a funny reaction. How are you doing, George?"

"I'm doing good, thanks for asking," George responded with a small grin. Tommy suddenly leant forward and popped his head between the two, turning towards Bad.

"Hey Badboyhalo, were you with your boyfriend, just now? Is that where you had gone?"

"What?!" Bad squeaked, turning bright red. "Skeppy is not my boyfriend, you muffin! And I was just wishing him luck before the game!"

"But you like him, I reckon," Tubbo added in, making Tommy snicker.

"No, I don't! Stahp it!!"

"George you should see him, we have to live with this guy so we know. We are like, victim to their interactions day in and day out, every fucking day, I tell you. He is totally obsessed with that Skeppy guy, they're constantly all over each other all the time, I swear on it. It's kind of gross, if I'm being honest, they're like, super lovey dovey and shit," Tommy continued shouting over the cheering still going on, and even over Bad's attempt to shut him up by covering his own ears and screeching "LALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU YOU'RE LYING ALSO LANGUAGE LALALALA" over and over.

"It's true, I can totally vouch for that. They also fight like a married couple, it's actually quite hilarious!" Tubbo agreed.

"BadBoyHalo, I feel terribly sorry that you have to deal with these two for the rest of the semester," Wilbur spoke up, patting his back solemnly. Bad let out a loud groan and Niki attempted to hide the fact that she was giggling.

"Your friends are funny, Georgie," Karl spoke up. George turned to him with a strained smile, which made Alex burst out laughing.

"Look, there's Clay!" Wilbur pointed at the field. George turned to the cluster of guys in football gear but was unable to differentiate who was who.

"How can you tell which one is Clay?" George asked.

"Because of the numbers! Clay is number 4, and look! There's Sapnap talking to him, since he's number 8. And that's Skeppy over there, wearing the number 14," Bad explained, pointing at each of them on the field.

"Actually, I recognized Clay for another reason," Wilbur admitted. When George turned towards him with a questioning gaze, he quietly explained to George, "You see, he's been limping slightly since the party. It's not as noticeable anymore, but sometimes he still walks a little weird. I noticed, and that's how I was able to tell it was him!"

"A limp?" George asked. Wilbur shrugged, apparently not knowing more, and turned back towards the field. George did the same, his mind reeling.

Clay had been limping since the party?

How did he not notice?

Did he know the reason behind the limp, but couldn't remember?

"Please rise for our national anthem," a voice boomed from the speakers. The crowd began quieting down, and everyone began standing up, placing a hand over their hearts. George stood up as well, not knowing what was happening but watching as a girl walked into the middle of the field with a mic.

It was Maia.

She sang the national anthem, ending with a roaring crowd of whistles and cheers as she walked back off the field, and the game began.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The referee blew the whistle, and just like that it was halftime. Clay skidded to a stop, nearly running into the guy from the opposing team that was in front of him. He had been in the middle of making a play, but unfortunately didn't have the sufficient time needed to reach the end zone.

He handed the ball over to the ref as he, along with everyone else, made their way to the sidelines. The coach was shouting something about a good first half, to keep it up, but Clay wasn't exactly listening as he took off his helmet.

It was true they did well in the first half. They were 14 to 2, but he knew better than to get overconfident and accidentally slip up. Anything could happen in the last two quarters.

He glanced at the marching band that was performing several stand cheers as the cheerleaders begun shouting chants and doing flips to get the crowd hyped up for the second half. His eyes briefly stayed on Celestia, her electric blue hair too hard to miss, before a churning in his gut made him look away again.

"Clay, look," Sapnap came up next to him, handing him a water bottle before pointing at the bleachers ahead of them. Clay looked in that direction to see a crowd of people waving in his direction.

Wilbur was practically towering above the rest, with Tommy and Tubbo beside him, who were waving enthusiastically at him and Sapnap. In the row right under was Niki, Bad sitting beside her (though his attention wasn't directed at them, but rather in the direction of Skeppy who was a few feet away from Clay and Sapnap), and beside Bad sat both Karl and Alex, also waving dramatically at the two and letting out embarrassingly loud whoops while shouting his and Sapnap's names along with several shameless statements.

And in between Karl and Bad sat George.

Clay had forced himself not to look for George in the crowd the whole game to avoid getting distracted, but now that he knew exactly where he was sitting, he openly stared at the boy.

He wasn't looking in his direction, but rather to his left, at Karl and Alex. He looked to be embarrassed at how loud the other two were being, a timid smile curling his lips upward as he watched them with amusement.

George then turned his head to the field, and as his eyes met Clay's time seemed to slow.

George's smile disappeared a bit at first, before it slowly crept back before coming on in full force, a big and beautiful smile lighting up his face entirely and making his eyes crinkle a bit at the edges, directed at Clay and Clay alone. Clay felt as though all the air in his lungs had been sucked out of him in that moment, and he could hear his heart pounding loudly in his ears, all other noises around him muted in comparison.

He watched as George almost timidly raised his hand and waved a bit, his mouth opening and his shoulders shaking slightly in a laugh Clay was unfortunately too far away to hear. Almost in a daze, Clay felt himself smiling stupidly back, raising his own hand and waving.

He felt Sapnap elbow him lightly, but he didn't have to look over at him to guess what he was probably thinking.

Clay could blame what he was feeling on the adrenaline of the game, that high he usually felt playing his favorite sport, but he knew all too well that this feeling was different.

Way too different.

His heart continued to hiccup as he swallowed roughly, his gaze still trained on George as though a beacon were pointing directly at him and everyone else in the crowd were a blur in the dark.

His cheeks were starting to hurt as he raised a hand to drag it down his face and hide the stupidly large smile he knows was still present on there.

He was so fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really big chapter, and this is only half of the events of the football game! Excited to finish the next half, things are about to go down :]
> 
> In the next few days I'll be going back to edit all of the chapters since I haven't done that, so if the next update comes a few days late that's probably why! I'll try my best to have it out in a week, though!
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who has left a comment, you guys seriously brighten up my days more than you know. I appreciate every single one of you reading too, I love you guys with my whole heart and I hope you guys know that you are loved and cared for, all of you!
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated! I care about you guys a whole ton, so please do take care <33
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The football game (2/2)

"Sapnap! Oh Sapnap you're so incredibly hot! You play with that ball so well!" Karl screamed.

"Please, oh mighty football star Clay, can I get your autograph on my bare ass?!" Alex was quick to follow, somehow even louder than first.

George felt himself flushing, looking over at the shameless display of the two, who found fun in catcalling the two football players while people surrounding them turned to give them funny looks. Despite how embarrassing the situation was, he couldn't help but feel an amused grin curling his lips upward as he watched the loud duo continue to have their own twisted fun.

George turned his attention back to the field only to lock eyes with Clay. He was standing besides Sapnap, a water bottle in hand , unopened and long forgotten as he stared openly and directly at him.

He felt his smile drop slightly as his stomach did a weird flip.

Without meaning to, he broke into a broad smile as he jerkily raised a hand and waved at Clay, followed by a nervous laugh that bubbled out of him when he realized how dumb the movement probably looked. He didn't feel too bad about it because Clay grinned widely and waved back, his eyes never leaving George's even as Sapnap elbowed him. George's eyebrows furrowed together, though, when he watched Clay drag a hand down his face, suddenly seeming tired or even overwhelmed.

"Hey Karl, how much is left of the game?" George asked, cutting Karl off from what was probably going to be another shameless statement he would declare for the whole stadium to hear. Karl pulled out his phone and checked the time, then looked back up at the field, watching the football players take their break and the cheerleaders continue their performance, before turning back to face George.

"Once half-time is over I'd say there's about a good 30 minutes left of game play," Karl responded. "I mean hypothetically, usually ends up being longer. Why? Do you want to leave already? We can go home now if you want, Georgie."

"No, no, it's not that," George said quickly, turning back to notice Clay was no longer looking his way and was instead talking to Sapnap, his eyes looking a little dazed and his cheeks flushed pink, probably from the exertion of the first half of the game. "Just, Clay looks a little exhausted. I don't know."

Alex had quieted down beside them, watching Clay and Sapnap attentively. Karl spoke up again. "He does look a little more out of it than usual, but I'm sure it's just nerves. It's the first game of the season, after all. Clay is really competitive, so sometimes he gets in over his head."

George watched as Clay walked over to the group of football players huddled together. He stepped weird and George caught him wince, but then continued walking as if nothing had happened. George felt worry furrow his eyebrows further, but he remained silent. George hoped Clay wasn't forcing himself to play while hiding an injury, but he had played the whole first half with no problem, and really well, at that, so surely he wouldn't have been able to do that with a serious injury, right?

George sighed and decided he would stop fretting about it. It was probably nothing, and he could always ask Clay about it after the game. Besides, Clay could take care of himself, and surely he would know when he was pushing his limits too far.

"Oh shit hell yeah!" Alex suddenly yelped in excitement. George turned to see a girl handing a plate of nachos to Alex. She had bronde, straight hair that cascaded down her shoulders, and she was wearing a black cap on her head. Alex took the nachos excitedly, digging in and practically stuffing his mouth to the brim, garbling out, "Thank you so much, Puffy!"

"Sure thing, Quackity," she responded, amusement evident in her voice. "You owe me."

"I don't owe you shit, you just called me Quackity," Alex huffed out heatedly, but the fact that his mouth was still stuffed made him sound and look more ridiculous than anything. 'Puffy' crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

"And you continue to insist on calling me Puffy, so I think we're even," she quipped, before nudging Alex and reminding him to share. He grumbled as he extended the plate of nachos covered in melted cheese to Karl, who giggled happily before taking a few for himself. When he offered some to George he declined, and that's when Puffy seemed to notice his presence besides the two.

"Oh hey, you guys are the exchange kids, aren't you?" Puffy asked, motioning towards George and the rest of the group sitting around him, who were too busy talking amongst themselves to notice her. George nodded, which made Puffy smile. "Welcome to America then. I'm Cara."

"Puffy."

"Shut it, Alex."

"Hi, Puffy!" Bad was the first to notice her presence, flashing her a kind smile. Alex snickered at the name, making Puffy shoot him a glare. This managed to cut whatever argument Wilbur and Tommy were having short as the two along with Niki and Tubbo turned to assess her as well.

"Bad, the only reason I'm letting you get away with calling me that is because you agreed that you preferred me, discount Skeppy, over the one over there," Puffy grinned, pointing out Skeppy on the field who currently had his head tipped back as he chugged a Gatorade. The expression on Bad's face did a complete 180 as he let out a strangled noise, his eyebrows furrowing as he pointed a finger at her.

"That's not true! I never said that! I had said I appreciated you taking Skeppy's place while he was home sick-"

"Oh my god Bad, you replaced Skeppy with Puffy?" Alex gasped, dropping the nachos to his lap. "What about me, Bad. I thought I was your best friend."

"Skeppy is my best friend!"

"He's your best friend? Oh alright, in that case I'm your boyfriend, right?"

"WHAT?!"

George watched as Bad shot to his feet and started yelling at Alex over George's head. Alex, who had stood up as well to argue back, a malicious smile on his face as he let out cackles in delight, clearly found amusement in getting Badboyhalo worked up. George turned to Karl, who had taken possession of the nachos and was eating away at them happily.

"This happens often. You get used to it," Karl waved above his head as the two continued squabbling above them, and George cracked a grin. Just then, the marching band that had been performing reached the climax of the song, and the stands began roaring with cheers and applause. George turned back to the field to see both teams rushing back onto it, the second half of the game about to start as the marching band moved to sit in their section in the bleachers. They continued playing music that had the crowd hyped as the game began.

George watched as number 4 positioned himself in the lineup as he silently prayed that nothing would go wrong.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Clay should have been more careful.

It had been the final quarter. The other school was slowly gaining on them, but not fast enough that Clay felt panicked. He did, however, know that he needed to make this touchdown to assure they stayed in the lead.

Schlatt, the team's quarterback, threw the ball towards the end zone, in the direction of Clay. He was running as fast as he could, pushing through the tingle of pain on his leg he had been feeling the whole game on his injured leg, glancing back at the ball spiraling through the sky above their heads. He dodged a few players from the opposing team successfully, his other team members trying their best to slow them down so Clay could make the final stretch.

"Clay!" he heard Technoblade yell behind him, and he knew it meant one of them had gotten out of their reach and was gaining on him now. Clay pushed forward, turning backwards as he was about to make it to the end zone. The ball was above his head and he lurched up towards it, catching it in mid-air. He was still airborne when the guy that had been gaining on him tackled him, sending him backwards. His injured foot landed on the ground roughly as he stumbled backwards, sending a jolt of pain far greater than any of the previous ones he had felt as he felt a popping sensation, and he fell on his back, making the air get knocked out of him as he clutched the ball tightly to his chest.

"Touchdown!" the crowd was yelling and cheering, and Clay would have been smiling if he didn't feel like his ankle had just been bent the wrong way. He sat up, wincing at the shot of pain through his leg, and as he accepted the hand of the guy that had tackled him, he stumbled and nearly fell back to the floor.

"Shit," he hissed as he stood on the foot that didn't feel as though it was split in two. He couldn't even rest his weight on the other foot without feeling intense discomfort on his foot.

"Clay, are you alright," Techno came up beside him, and soon Sapnap, Skeppy, Callahan, and Sam were by his side as well. Clay tried to step forward but felt the same strain on his foot, hissing as it throbbed painfully.

"Shit Clay, I think you sprained an ankle," Sapnap said as he moved to his side, wrapping an arm under him and allowing Clay to lean his weight on him. "You can't play like this."

"I'm fine," Clay insisted, but he knew nobody believed him. Sapnap helped him hobble over to the benches, where his coach congratulated him on the touchdown but told him he was done for the game. Clay remained silent as he was set down on a bench.

"Stop sulking, idiot. The game's almost over anyway, and you scored us a touchdown," Sapnap grinned fondly as he lightly knuckled Clay's head, and Clay felt himself smile softly at him.

"Win this game," Clay responded, and Sapnap jokingly saluted as he rushed back onto the field. The coach put in Antfrost to play in his place, and he felt himself deflate on the bench as sudden exhaustion overcame him.

"Give him ice and wrap that foot in a bandage, he should be fine," he heard the coach say, probably to the school nurse. He assumed that's who was walking over to him, so he didn't bother looking up and instead stared at his throbbing foot with annoyance.

His leg had been in a delicate state already, so he shouldn't have been surprised by how easy it was to get a sprained ankle.

It still sucked, though.

"Hey, Clay," a voice said beside him. Clay froze, his stomach dropping, his throat suddenly dry. He whipped his head up and saw not the school's nurse, but a girl with black hair cascading down her shoulders, wearing a grey sweater with a baby pink skirt overall over it. In her hands were bandages and an ice pack.

"Where's the nurse?" Clay asked with lack of something better to say. The girl assessed his expression carefully before shrugging and moving to kneel in front of him, taking his foot into her hands. Clay watched dumbly as she slowly took off the cleat from his injured foot, biting back the pain that jolted from the action.

"I think she's out today. I volunteered to help out, so," she explained. Clay hummed, watching as the girl slipped his sock off his foot too, her eyebrows furrowing at the bruise that was starting to form on his ankle. She grabbed the bandages and began wrapping it around his foot, Clay gritting his teeth and digging his nails into the bench as she did so.

"It's swelling, so this should compress the ankle until the swelling stops," she explained.

"Your hair," Clay blurted out. The girl flinched, but didn't look up. "It looks different."

The girl was still staring at his foot, but she wasn't bandaging it, as if his words had frozen her in place.

"I decided to dye it black. Last week, actually," she said finally, almost hesitantly.

She still wasn't looking at him, and Clay felt himself frown.

"What was wrong with your blonde hair?"

"Technically my hair is brown. I had dyed it blonde, remember?"

"Oh. Right," Clay muttered. The girl finished bandaging his ankle and stood up, handing him the ice pack she had.

"Press this to your ankle for 15 to 20 minutes. It should help decrease the swelling also," she said almost robotically. Clay grimaced, making the girl's own face twist in discomfort.

"Um. Thanks," Clay responded. The girl stared at him for a moment longer before nodding, turning to walk away. Suddenly, Clay felt himself lurching forward a bit, ignoring the jolt of pain on his leg and raising a hand as if that would stop the girl from walking away. He finally remembered how to speak, and let out strangled-

"Sam."

The girl froze again and turned around, her eyes a bit wide. Clay felt himself swallowing roughly as he met eyes with his ex-girlfriend.

"How...how have you been?" Clay asked. Sam looked even more surprised at the question, her eyes as wide as saucers as her mouth dropped open slightly. Something twisted in her expression as she responded.

"I've been okay."

"Okay," Clay nodded. He coughed awkwardly. "Um, good. That's good, I'm glad."

"Yeah," she responded, and with that she turned again and walked away, not for the first time.

Clay turned back to the ice pack in his hand, his expression darkening as he felt an uncomfortable swirling in his stomach. He hadn't talked to Sam in months, and talking to her now out of nowhere had been more upsetting then he expected it would be. His stomach felt especially upset, and he bent over slightly as he clutched it tightly.

He felt like throwing up.

And then, he did.

Clay wretched on the grass below him, just barely missing his shoes.

"Oh my god Clay," one of his teammates that was on the bench some ways away said, and he distantly recognized it as Ranboo's voice. Ranboo came up beside him as he threw up his lunch, his throat uncomfortably raw as he gagged from the disgusting taste of bile in his mouth. He felt Ranboo rubbing comforting circles on his back as he straightened again, wiping his mouth as he suddenly felt a stinging behind his eyes. He blinked quickly, taking in a shaky breath.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ranboo asked. Clay nodded, despite feeling the complete opposite.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know what that was," he admitted. He turned to Ranboo, who had a concerned look on his face.

"Clay, are you alright?" the coach came up to him and asked next. Clay nodded, but before he could get another word in, a yell made him freeze.

"Clay!"

He whipped around to see three people stumbling down the rows of bleachers and making their way to him hurriedly, concern coloring all of their expressions. His eyes widened as he watched Karl, Alex, and George draw near.

"What are you-" he started, but cut off in surprise when George suddenly came up to his side, sidestepping his puke and helping him up from the bench by wrapping an arm under him and hoisting him to his feet, allowing him to lean his weight on him instead of his injured foot. Clay's face immediately heated up as he looked at him with wide eyes, George's face close. Too close.

"Coach, we're taking him back inside the school so he can freshen up, is that okay?" Karl spoke up. The coach looked at the four of them for a few seconds, his eyebrow arching upwards, so Clay spoke up, "I actually do have to use the restroom. I'll be back in a bit, they can help take me there." Coach sighed and nodded, telling him to be quick, and with that George, Karl and Alex started leading him away from the stadium and back towards the school.

"This will be easier if you put your arm around my shoulder, you know," George spoke up, side-eyeing him. Clay realized he had his arm stiffly between the two of them, making it awkward to walk, so he jerkily moved his arm and wrapped it around the back of George's neck, feeling flustered and hoping his face didn't look like a tomato.

"Thank you, George," he responded, sounding almost timid. At that George cracked a smile, and turned to Karl and Alex who were staring at Clay like he was an injured puppy.

"You guys can go back and watch the end of the game, I'll take him," George insisted. Karl looked ready to rebuke, but Alex stopped him.

"C'mon dude, he's got this," Alex assured Karl. Karl looked at George with a torn expression.

"But then you will miss the end of the game!" Karl pointed out.

"It's okay," George responded. He glanced at Clay, and Clay felt a fluttering in his stomach as their eyes met. "I'm sure there will be more games I'll be able to watch in the future."

"Vamonos, Karlitos," Alex said as he began pushing Karl away, who looked like someone had kicked his puppy. "Feel better, Clay!"

"Yeah, Clay, I hope you feel better!" Karl called back after, and the two made their way back to their seats on the bench. George started walking again, and Clay limped as best he could while not stepping too much on his hurt ankle.

The sun had already set, and back in the football field the place was lit up with the stadium lights, but as they walked away from it and back towards campus, the darkness of the night engulfed them both. They remained quiet as they walked, Clay wracking his brain for something to say but coming up blank, the only sounds heard from the chirping of crickets, the wind blowing in their ears and the almost muted sound of the marching band playing as the crowd continued to cheer in the distance.

"You pushed yourself too far, didn't you," George spoke up suddenly. Clay turned to look at him, noticing the genuine concern etched into his expression, drawing his eyebrows down as he stared forward.

"What do you mean?"

"You were already limping from an injury, and I convinced myself you wouldn't push yourself if it was serious but," George sighed, glancing at him for a second before looking away again. "Here we are."

"You were worried about me?" Clay asked, his voice coming out more breathless than he'd liked. George huffed exasperatedly, his grip on Clay's back tightening slightly.

"Is that the only thing you got out of that? Yes, I was worried, idiot."

Clay looked away, feeling his heart start drumming happily in his ears as he bit back a smile. They arrived to double doors leading into the school, and thankfully they had been kept unlocked and the lights inside turned on despite the time. George pushed the door open and lead them inside, the school eerily silent and uncomfortably empty.

"It feels so weird being in the school at this time," George whispered. Clay snorted, and George turned to give him a weird look. "What."

"Why are you whispering," Clay said, speaking quietly to mock George.

"It feels weird to talk normally. It's so quiet."

"Okay, weirdo."

"Clay I will drop you."

Clay let out a loud wheeze, George rushing to shush him which only made Clay laugh harder.

"George, you're such an idiot," Clay said once he stopped laughing, his voice dripping with unmasked affection. Thankfully George really was an idiot, because he merely grumbled an insult back in response.

They arrived to the restrooms in one of the hallways, and George led him to one of the stalls, holding it open for him.

"Go in there and do your business, I don't know," George said, flushing a bit after his words hung in the air awkwardly. Clay snorted again, limping into the stall.

"You didn't exactly think that statement through, huh," Clay chuckled. George grumbled a shut up as he moved to stand in front of the mirror, looking through his phone while Clay took a dump.

Clay limped back out, wincing whenever he put pressure on his sprained ankle and washed his hands. George watched him quietly.

"How come you threw up? Are you feeling sick?" George asked, seeming as though the question had been on his mind for a while. Clay dried his hands with paper towels, the noise of them crinkling echoing within the walls of the otherwise quiet bathroom.

"No, I'm not sick. I don't know, I just suddenly felt all queasy and next thing I know I'm seeing my lunch in front of me for a second time today." George laughed softly, which made Clay smile. It dropped again when he recalled what made his stomach churn in the first place. "I spoke to Sam today."

Clay turned to look at George, expecting to see a concerned face, or maybe even a serious one, but what he was met with instead was clearly written puzzlement etched into his features, no recognition to the name evident on his face at all.

"Sam?" George asked. Clay nodded, almost hesitantly. Had George forgotten already?

"Yeah. My ex-girlfriend." Recognition lit up George's face now.

"Oh yeah, Maia mentioned you had an ex-girlfriend," George said. Clay's eyebrows furrowed.

"Maia?" he repeated, his gut starting to twist uncomfortably. "I told you about my ex, though?"

"You did?" George responded, perplexity returning onto his expression. He shook his head. "No, you haven't told me about your ex. I didn't even know her name was Sam."

"George, I literally told you about her at Karl's party. In the woods, remember?" Clay asked. George's face screw up in further confusion.

"In the woods? But I didn't..." he trailed off, looking down at the floor as he thought hard, racking his brain for a memory he apparently could not find. "I went into the woods?"

"You don't remember...anything?" Clay asked in disbelief. He didn't even realize he had begun silently hoping George was kidding, that he was just messing with him, that this was all some kind of sick joke that only he found funny, until he felt his heart sink as he watched George genuinely look at a loss for words. "George?"

"I remember up to spin the bottle, but after I got up to chase after you everything gets fuzzy," George began rambling, pressing a hand to his head as he drew his eyebrows together in thought. "I don't remember much else. Just waking up the next day in bed in different clothes. Karl told me to ask you what happened because he said I was with you the rest of the party."

"So you forgot everything I..." Clay trailed off, suddenly feeling lightheaded. He stumbled and clutched onto the edge of the sink, ignoring the jolt through his leg as he felt his head start pounding even more painfully. George moved to his side to help steady him, but he hardly registered the movement in the midst of his daze.

"Clay, hey, are you okay?" George asked. Clay mumbled a yes but felt himself swaying, so he leaned his weight onto George's side without realizing. "Do you need water or something?"

"I think..." Clay swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "I think I want to go home."

"Oh. Oh, okay." George grabbed hold of the small of his back, allowing Dream to tuck his arm over his shoulder. "Lets get you back, then."

They silently made their way back out of the restroom, walking down the hall in silence, Clay's mind oddly void of thought.

They were almost to the double doors leading outside when they heard some voices down a hall to their left, the two not having passed it yet so the people remaining out of view. Clay paused, George stopping as well and turning to look at him questioningly.

A guy's voice.

"So you don't feel anything for him? At all?"

A girl's voice, softer but firm, responding.

"I don't, I already told you. How many times are you going to make me repeat myself?"

Clay felt his heart stop.

He recognized that voice.

"I'm sorry if it's a little difficult to believe you," the guy muttered.

The girl scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean. I'm dating you, not him."

"Dating someone hasn't stopped you before. You were with him when we first hooked up, so I'm sorry for having doubts about your loyalty."

"Clay?" George whispered beside him. In the quiet of the halls, though, his voice practically boomed, and the voices ahead of them quickly quieted. Pattering of footsteps, followed by a boy and girl their age emerging from around the corner of the hall.

The guy looked vaguely familiar, someone Clay had see around the halls maybe but not interacted with. Short brown hair, leather jacket, pretty average looking.

And standing beside him was Clay's ex-girlfriend.

"Clay," Sam practically gasped, a shell shocked look pinching her features. Clay's expression hardened, and Sam flinched under his scrutinizing glare. She at least had the decency of looking guilty as her gaze flickered away from his intense one.

"Let's go, George," Clay said, glaring daggers at the girl he would have once gone to the moon and back for. Staring at her now, though, he only felt distaste and boiling anger at the revelation he had just heard, all feelings he once felt towards her dissipated entirely. He flicked his gaze away as the two began walking towards the double doors once more, exiting the building. Clay didn't once look back.

"Was that her? Your ex?" George hesitantly asked. Clay felt a sinking feeling all over again at the reminder that George had forgotten everything. He had laid himself completely bare to him that night, for what felt like the first time, and for what?

Everything he had such a hard time saying out loud, had finally been said aloud to George alone, had been wiped from the shorter boy's memory.

"That was Sam, yeah," Clay finally said quietly when he realized he hadn't responded to George's question for a long enough time for it to be awkward. George hummed, and Clay suddenly felt sick again, bile rising in his throat that he forcibly swallowed down, making him cringe.

They walked back to the stadium in silence, where Clay told the Coach he would be taking his leave. He was dismissed for the rest of the game, and George texted Wilbur that Clay had decided to leave. Wilbur, the kind soul, quickly made his way down from the bleachers and came up to Clay's side.

"I'll take him back to the locker room. I'll see you on Monday, George," Wilbur had said. George had merely nodded, finally detaching himself from Clay's side for what seemed like the first time in hours as he mumbled a goodbye to the two, and a wish that Clay felt better soon. Clay felt drained, both mentally and physically as he allowed Wilbur to help him limp over to the locker rooms to gather his things and then head to his car. Wilbur insisted on driving, and Clay didn't protest because he knew he wouldn't be able to hit the gas with his sprained ankle.

"Let's just hope I can drive this thing correctly. I'm used to the wheel being on the opposite side," Wilbur admitted. Clay was too tired to worry.

Before they pulled out of the parking lot, Clay suddenly jolted upwards when he remembered something the events of the past 30 minutes alone had managed to make him forget.

"Wait, Wilbur, can you text George and tell him to come over here really quick? I forgot I have his clothes I borrowed that I need to return," Clay said in one breath. "Please."

Wilbur sent a text to George, and they waited a few minutes until George came running up to Clay's side of the car. Wilbur had reached into the backseat and gotten the hoodie and pants Clay had borrowed and washed, and Clay held the articles of clothing in his lap now as he rolled down the window.

"Hey, what's up," George said, breathing a bit heavily from having run from the football field all the way to the parking lot. His gaze trailed down to the clothes Clay was now holding out to him through the open window, and he gawked at them with wide eyes. "Wait, how did you get these?"

"Something else you forgot about Karl's party," Clay said, his voice coming out monotone, masking what he really felt within. He shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, when the reality was that George having forgotten everything that happened between them was weighing heavy on Clay's heart, having hurt him more than he liked. "You had let me borrow it. Sorry for not returning it before. I washed it."

"Oh. Thank you," George said a bit haltingly as he took the clothes from him and tucked it under his arm. Clay could see the clear confusion mixed with lingering worry drawing George's eyebrows together even in the dark, and he knew George could tell Clay was acting off.

"I'll be okay George. Enjoy the rest of the game," Clay tried to force a smile but it fell short, and George gave a similar strained one in return as he took a step back from the car. Clay rolled up the window as Wilbur set the car into motion, and they left the parking lot in quietude, Clay watching George wave goodbye through the rear view mirror as he grew smaller and smaller until he was completely out of view.

Clay felt a stinging in his eyes as he shut them tight, leaning his head back to rest on his car seat, letting the loll of the car rock him to an in between of wake and slumber. He drifted in and out of consciousness as he thought of the dumb injury he got during the game, of his ex-girlfriend that he found out cheated on him, of the life-altering injury he caused his sister to have, and of everything he admitted to George that went forgotten in the boy's mind.

He let out a shaky sigh, and fell asleep to the low humming of the car's engine.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George < georgenotfound@gmail.com >  
to dreamwastaken@gmail.com

hey Dream, sorry I'm just now getting back to you. the football game was an overall interesting experience, there's still a lot of stuff you all do here that I'm not used to exactly, but it was fun. for the most part at least, a friend that's on the team got hurt, I'm guessing you know who I'm referring to if you were watching the game. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried, especially since other stuff was brought up too, and he looked upset and I don't know what to do if I'm being honest. I feel like I messed up somehow, or I let him down, and it sucks cause I genuinely don't know why or how

sorry for rambling, I don't even know who you are and I'm dumping this all on you. sorry for being vague about it too, you probably have no idea what I'm even saying but I don't think he would like it if I went into detail about his issues with someone else

and things are okay with us. I was caught a bit off guard, but it didn't make me uncomfortable or anything. but thanks for being understanding all the same

wow this got rlly long for some reason, it's like I wrote you a whole essay haha. sorry for boring you. but yea, don't worry about scaring me off or anything

to tell you the truth, I guess you've started growing on me. you didn't hear that from me tho

have a good night Dream

Reply Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I've revived to bring you all another update :)
> 
> Going to go back and revise it in the next few days, sorry for grammar errors and such! Wrote most of this half conscious, so sorry if it's not that good haha,,
> 
> Also thank you to the people that helped me out in the comments last chapter by telling me about their HS football game experience! It helped me out a ton, considering I’ve never been to one myself lol I rlly appreciate you guys :]
> 
> As always, take care of yourselves guys! I care about you all a lot, so take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated! Please!!
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	13. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> intermission chapter
> 
> see end note for more details on this :]

"Holy shit, holy shit five seconds Karl holy shit-"

"Alex, he's going to make it! He'll make it- OH MY GOD HE MADE IT!"

"TOUCHDOWN HOLY FUCK!"

"LANGUAGE, QUACKITY!"

The stands erupted in deafening cheers and whistles, everyone on their feet and making the bleachers shake beneath them as their school let out a chorus of screams in celebration. All the players that had been seated in the bleachers stood up and dashed onto the field, the whole team running towards the lone player throwing the ball down to the ground in celebration at the end zone. They surrounded him, some playfully hitting his helmet as one proceeded to lift him up onto his shoulders, piggyback style. The player that had made the touch down pumped his arm in the air as everyone cheered him on. 

"THAT'S MY HUSBAND!" Karl screeched, though his voice was drowned out by the ongoing cheering surrounding them. Alex punched him in the shoulder.

"I thought I was your husband, Karl."

"You both are."

"That one was for you, baby!" a scream from the field drew their attention back, Karl's smile widening when his gaze found Sapnap's, who had taken off his helmet and was looking back at him, a killer smile lighting up his face as he pointed up directly at Karl. Karl let out a string of giggles as he clapped for him before blowing him a kiss, which Sapnap pretended to catch with an exaggerated swoon and wide grin. 

"I'll let this slide just this once, only cause we won," Alex grumbled, but he was smiling wide at Sapnap and proceeded to clap aggressively while yelling "Let's go!!" Karl smiled fondly at the shorter boy before his attention was drawn back to the field as a booming voice erupted from the speakers surrounding them. 

"Don't leave just yet, we have a final, special performance from our cheerleading team and marching band with a few very special guests coming up!" a girl declared as the stands erupted in another wave of surprised cheers and whistles. Karl giddily grinned with excitement and surprise bubbling inside of him as Alex nudged his shoulder. 

"Special performance? Have they always had those at games?" he asked over the noise all around them. Karl shrugged.

"I don't think they have, most people seem as surprised at us," he responded, before noticing a few of the football players had broken off from the group still celebrating at the end field and were dashing off, Sapnap amongst them. "What are they doing?"

Karl and Alex watched as Sapnap, Technoblade, Skeppy, Sam and Callahan jogged towards the exit and in the direction of the campus building. 

"Hey Bad, do you know where they're going?" Karl turned to notice Bad was already watching the group retreat, confusion etched into his features.

"I don't know...Skeppy didn't tell me anything," Bad mumbled more to himself, furrowing his bottom lip between his teeth in thought. He suddenly turned towards Karl and Alex, a determined look in his eyes. "I'll be right back, will you guys look after Tommy and Tubbo for me, please?"

"We don't need babysitters," Tommy scoffed suddenly, revealing he had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "I'm a big man, I can take care of Tubbo and myself."

"Why am I the one that needs to be taken care of," Tubbo crossed his arms in a huff, turning on Tommy. "I'm literally older than you."

"Shut up I don't care."

"No, you shut up!"

Karl watched with some amusement as the pair began squabbling like 5 year olds, making Bad sigh heavily and look as though he was already getting a headache. He muttered a quick goodbye before moving past Niki and down the bleachers, breaking out into a run after the group that had left the stadium. 

"Never did I think I would see BadBoyHalo break off into a run like that. Guess people will do anything when they're in love, am I right guys," Alex laughed loudly, lifting his hand towards Tommy and Tubbo, who stopped bickering to stare at his outstretched hand. "Cmon, I'm so right, up top!"

Both boys immediately dashed forward to meet his hand in a high five, but Tubbo was faster and Tommy’s ended up hitting the back of Tubbo’s hand.

“Oi, he was asking me for the high five,” Tommy whined. Tubbo huffed and rolled his eyes.

“Well too bad, I was faster!”

The two began another round of arguing as Alex looked away with them with an amused smile, letting out a loud whoop as he punched the air in celebration.

"I'm back! What did I miss?" a familiar voice said beside him. Karl watched as George scooted past Niki to sit back down beside him. Karl finally sat down again, grinning widely at the British boy that in the span of a few days had become one of his dearest friends.

"George, you missed the best part of the game!" Alex cut in before Karl could get a word out, sitting back down to lean towards George. George turned his attention back down to the field, probably taking note of the fact that their school's team was currently being dumped with green colored Gatorade and yelling wildly in celebration. The bleachers on the opposite end of the field were beginning to empty as the away team's school began trickling out, probably not interested in watching their school's "special performance."

"It's over already??" George asked bewilderedly, making Niki giggle a bit beside him. Karl patted his back solemnly while nodding.

"Game's done, but we won, George! We are the champions!" Karl shook him excitedly, riling Alex up all over again.

"That's right baby! Weeeeee are the chammmpionsssss, my frienddddd!" Alex began singing loudly, wrapping an arm around Karl and swaying them back and forth.

"Hey Alex! Come down here for a sec, yeah?" a voice with a thick accent shouted from the field. Minx was standing beside Schlatt, a hand on her hip as she gestured for him to hurry. "And bring the jacket!"

Schlatt leaned closer to Minx to say something Karl couldn't hear, making her screw her face up at his smug look as she seemed to let out a groan before adding a loud, "Please! For fucks sake."

"Got to go, see you guys later," Alex patted Karl's shoulder with a grin, following that action by reaching over him to ruffle George's hair, who swatted at him in protest. He waved briefly at the rest of the exchange students around them before setting off down the bleachers towards Minx and Schlatt, Karl watching him go with a grin. Music began pouring out from the field's speakers as Karl turned back to George.

"We're going to stick around for a bit longer because the cheerleaders want to put on a performance, but if you want to go home now we can leave."

"No, no it's okay, we can stay," George responded, and Karl was surprised to notice his smile didn't reach his eyes. He glanced down at the clothes he was holding in his lap, something he hadn't noticed before.

"What's that?" he pointed at it, George stiffening and instinctively gripping it tighter.

"Oh- uh, it's Clay. I mean, it's from Clay, that's why he called me over there, not that the clothes is Clay," George began stammering before clearing his throat. "He had it for some reason. Apparently I let him borrow it at the party but I...I don't remember."

Karl saw guilt flash in George's eyes, making his eyebrows furrow as he began feeling a reflection of the same emotion.

"Did you ask him about the party?" Karl asked softly. He felt his heart sink as he practically watched George close in on himself right in front of him, his eyes darkening as his expression fell into neutral. He shrugged.

"I did, but uh...he didn't get to tell me much about what happened. And he seemed..." George trailed off as turned to stare back at the field, his eyebrows furrowing the slightest bit. When Karl realized he wasn't going to finish his sentence, he forced a smile and patted his back lightly.

"You can ask him about it again on Monday, once he's rested and feeling better I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you," he grinned encouragingly, nearly sighing in relief when George gave him a small, genuine smile.

"Alright, I'll talk to him on Monday."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Bad's breathing was coming out heavy by the time he reached the main entrance of the high school where he assumed, and hoped, Skeppy and the others had gone. He didn't even know why he followed them, he just saw Skeppy leaving the stadium for a reason he did not know and ran after him on impulse.

"Where are you, you little muffin heads," Bad muttered under his breath, though the whisper sounded much louder in the empty corridors of the school. He knew Skeppy was probably going to tease him for going after him or call him clingy, but Bad's stubbornness and growing curiosity was enough to push him to continue walking.

There was a crash somewhere to his left, making an involuntary squeak escape him as he jumped midway into the air. Laughter followed, the noise bouncing off the walls as Bad took off in the direction of the noise.

He arrived at the boy's restroom and after a moments hesitation swung the door open.

"Holy shit!" Skeppy shrieked, instinctively covering his body with his football jersey. Bad felt his mouth slack open, his eyes practically bugging out of his skull at the sight before him.

Skeppy, Callahan, Sapnap and Sam were spread out in the small space of the restroom, most of them in the middle of changing out of their Football gear, their helmets and jerseys sprawled out on the tiled floor. In their place, each of them were wearing-

"Are you wearing cheerleader uniforms?!" Bad squeaked, covering his face as it heated up in embarrassment, preventing him from seeing the way Skeppy's face flushed a deep scarlet.

"Bad?! Wh-what are you doing here?!" Skeppy stammered out, attempting to pull his skirt down.

"I told you we should've gone to the locker rooms, but you guys didn't listen to me," Sapnap quipped with a sigh, looking unaffected by the whole ordeal and leaning on the sink with his arms crossed. Callahan stood a few ways back, spinning in a lazy circle and watching his own skirt flutter in amazement.

"The rest of the team might have gone to the locker room, though, and it would have ruined the surprise," Sam pointed out, rubbing his neck nervously as his other hand played with the hem of his skirt. Sapnap muttered an "I guess" in response but didn't seem entirely convinced.

"If you're getting embarrassed about this in front of a single person, Skeppy, then I pray for how you're going to deal with a whole audience," a monotone voice within one of the stalls spoke up. Bad dropped his hands from his face a bit as the stall door swung open, nearly smacking into Sam who backed away from it in surprise. "Oops. Sorry, Sam."

"Techno?!?" Bad's voice sounded borderline hysterical as he gawked at Technoblade, out of all people, in a crop top and skirt.

"Hellooo," he responded with a curt wave, his expression looking bored.

"Skeppy, what is this all about??" Bad turned back to Skeppy, who was looking everywhere but at Bad. "Why are all of you guys in skirts??"

"It was a dare, technically," Skeppy admitted sheepishly, staring at the tile floor as if it had just spoken to him. "If the team won the first game of the season, we were going to dress up as cheerleaders and put on a show for everybody in celebration."

"What kind of dare is that?!" Bad shrieked. Skeppy shot a look at Sapnap, gesturing wildly at Bad as he did so, huffing, "See? See what I mean?"

Sapnap moved away from the sink, picking up his discarded jersey off the floor, along with everybody else's, shrugging. "It was Clay's idea."

"Who, by the way, isn't even here! He made the dare, and he promised he would do it with us, but now he gets to back out of it? That's, like, so unfair! How come he can back out of it and not me??" Skeppy complained, flailing his hands around in exasperation.

"We've been over this, Clay sprained his ankle and proceeded to throw up his lunch and was sent home! Maybe try puking your guts out first and then we'll talk," Sapnap shot back, making Skeppy fix a heated glare in his direction and mutter a "Well maybe he did it on purpose."

"Guys, c'mon, lets not fight about this. I'm sure it'll be fun!" Sam attempted weakly, Callahan shooting two thumbs up in support as Sam smiled at him in thanks. Skeppy let out a groan as Bad's eyes furrowed.

"So you guys are the 'special guests'? You'll be performing with the cheerleading team?" Bad asked, remembering the announcement that had been made back at the stadium.

"Indeed," Techno deadpanned, before walking past Bad and pushing the restroom door open. "Cmon everyone, we have a promise to fulfill and an audience to entertain."

"I like your spirit, Technoblade," Sapnap grinned as he left the jerseys on the counter next to the sink and walked after him. Callahan wordlessly followed suit, pulling Sam along with him, leaving Bad and Skeppy alone as the restroom door swung shut.

Bad turned towards Skeppy, who was still refusing to meet his eye. "Skeppy, you know you don't have to do this if you don't want to. Nobody can force you."

"I know," Skeppy sighed, slowly exiting the restroom and following the rest of the group at a slower pace, Bad falling in step with him. "I keep complaining, but I will feel crappy if I don't do it with them. I agreed to the dare, after all."

The two continued walking in silence, Bad shifting uneasily at the sudden awkward air between them. He wanted to say something, give his best friends words of encouragement, but he didn't know how.

As the two walked back out of the building, the fresh air hitting their faces, the rest of the boys already a good way ahead of them, Bad finally spoke up.

"Listen, Skeppy. I can tell you're nervous about this- AH, AH, don't try and deny it because I know you, okay?"

"Okay okay, sorryyy," Skeppy drawled with his hands raised in surrender, making an involuntary smile begin to crack through Bad's attempt of a serious expression.

"Thank you," Bad finally grinned, before clearing his throat and continuing. "And okay, you probably think you look dumb or something and that's why you're having these doubts so if I tell you this you have to promise you won't ever bring it up or tease me about it, okay? I'm only saying it because I want you to feel better."

"Fine Bad, I promise I won't tease you for whatever your going to say, even if I ever want to really badly. You have my word."

The two were nearly at the stadium where the rest of the guys dressed as cheerleaders were waiting for them, but Bad timidly grabbed onto Skeppy's wrist and pulled him to a stop. Skeppy looked up at him in surprise as Bad felt his cheeks flush. He prayed it was dark enough that Skeppy couldn't tell.

"You...y-you look good. I-In a uh, a skirt," Bad stammered, staring at the concrete beneath their feet and wishing it could open up and swallow him whole. "S-So don't worry about looking dumb because you look really, really great, a-actually."

A silence stretched between them, the distant sound of the chattering of the crowd still waiting in the stadium and the music being blasted out of the speakers the only thing filling the heavy air between them. Bad timidly turned his attention back up to Skeppy to take in his raised brows, wide eyes and pursed mouth, his face suspiciously flushed a shade darker. 

"Do you mean it?" Skeppy practically breathed out, and at Bad's timid nod his face broke out in a wide grin as he threw himself into Bad's arms. "AWEEEE BADDDDD!"

"Skeppy get off, you need to go now!" Bad yelped as he pulled himself out of Skeppy's grip, ignoring the heat pooling in his cheeks. He was relieved to see Skeppy smirk up at him, all of the tension that had been making him stiff earlier gone and replaced with his usual, annoying self.

"Okay, I know I promised I wouldn't tease you, but-"

"Just go already!" Bad pushed him away, the other cackling loudly as he began to rush off towards the stadium, a newfound confidence evident in the way he carried himself now despite wearing a crop top and skirt. Skeppy shot a smile back at Bad.

"Hey Bad, keep your eyes on me only, okay?" Skeppy shouted back to him with a wink, snickering when Bad crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at him. As he watched him disappear back into the stadium, he couldn't help the fond smile that broke onto his face.

He knew he wouldn't be able to look at anybody else.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

The "special performance" was one everybody would definitely be talking about for the next month at least. Everybody that decided to leave before it would later regret doing so and missing out on what was hands down one of the most entertaining performances at a football game to date.

The cheerleaders had began a dance routine as the band played a mashup of the current popular pop songs when five members of the football team ran onto the field wearing cheerleading uniforms. They began dancing as in sync as they could manage, the crowd still remaining cheering them on loudly and laughing at the whole spectacle. Compared to the cheerleaders their routine wasn't as impressive, it was mostly the boys just running around doing whatever flips they could manage, Technoblade pulling off the most impressive ones and Sam picking up some of the cheerleaders above his head, or Sapnap, Skeppy and Callahan attempting to dance in sync with the music, but everybody was into it and the stands were shaking from the ruckus everybody was making over it.

By the end of it, the crowd broke off into a deafening cheer as the boys bowed, Sapnap shaking his pom poms in the air proudly, Technoblade looking satisfied with a smile ghosting his lips, Callahan doing a few playful twirls before landing in Sam's arms dramatically, and Skeppy looking the most confident of all, his ear to ear grin bold as he stared directly at the person that helped him get out there in the first place.

Bad gave him one of the biggest smiles ever right back, his eyes never having once left the boy with the spiked up hair in a disarray wearing a cheerleader uniform.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Hey, is it alright if I could get a picture with you?"

Sapnap looked down at the girl that had come up beside him. She seemed younger, maybe a freshmen and vaguely familiar, probably having seen her at some point in the halls of the school, but he didn't know her.

"Sure," he shrugged anyway, making the girl relax a bit in relief. She got her phone out and turned the camera towards them, coming up next to Sapnap as he leant down a bit to come into frame. He grinned as she took the picture, excitedly turning towards him again.

"Thank you so much! Your performance was great, I couldn't stop laughing- oops, I mean cheering," the girl giggled. "You pull off a skirt really well!"

Sapnap chuckled lightly in response, saying a quick "thank you" back before she dashed off to a group of girls some ways away who began squealing and giggling when she got to them.

"Hello there Mr. Cheerleader, could I have a picture with you as well or do I have to wait in line?"

Sapnap turned towards the voice, feeling his face instantly light up as he looked up to see Karl grinning down at him.

"Karl! Hey," Sapnap grinned widely, making Karl giggle.

"Hey handsome. The girl was right you know, you do pull off a skirt," he wiggled his eyebrows playfully, making a laugh escape Sapnap as he swished his skirt a bit.

"It's not bad. Pretty airy down there, it's nice," Sapnap shrugged, smiling wickedly at the face Karl made. "Are you seduced?"

"Very," Karl played along, one of his hands lightly coming up to the strip of exposed waist and lightly grazing it, making an involuntary shiver travel down Sapnap's spine. "Maybe you should wear a skirt more often."

"Maybe I will," Sapnap's lips quirked upwards as he leaned into Karl the slightest bit, close enough Karl could probably feel Sapnap's breath fanning his face. He dropped his voice. "You would like that huh."

And just like that, the air between them was no longer playful. It wasn't the first time this happened, that something electric suddenly seemed to pass between them, a tension he knew Karl was aware of too but neither had addressed aloud. He could feel himself leaning the slightest bit closer to the other boy, an invisible force drawing him closer, almost impossible to withstand.

Almost.

Because just like every other time, they both pulled back. They smiled at each other, and ignored the butterflies swarming within them.

"I should get going, I have to drive Gogy back home," Karl gestured back where Sapnap noticed George standing near the parking lot with Alex, Bad and Skeppy. Skeppy and Alex seemed to be arguing, the latter gesturing around wildly as usual as Bad stood between them and seemed to be attempting to calm them down. George was standing a bit off to the side, watching the three with clear amusement in his features.

"Yeah dude, go. I'll see you Monday," Sapnap turned back to Karl, jumping slightly at their proximity when he did so. He took a small step back when Karl suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Nuh-uh, I'm not leaving without that picture," Karl grinned devilishly, pulling out his phone and swiping to the camera roll setting. "Get in here, gorgeous."

Sapnap leaned in a bit, only for Karl to tug him closer where he was still holding onto his bicep, bringing the two of them flushly side by side. 

Sapnap ignored how perfectly they seemed to slot beside each other, like a puzzle pieces made for the other.

"Smile," Karl whispered as he extended the phone in front of them, moving his hand away from his bicep to squish Sapnap's face. Sapnap let out a laugh in surprise, and just as Karl let go, his hand hovering over the click button, it happened.

Karl turned to the side, leant down, and pressed his lips to Sapnap's cheek.

Click.

Sapnap froze. He stared as the image appeared at the bottom of the screen where the camera roll was. A tiny pixelated image of Sapnap mid laugh, Karl kissing his cheek.

His stomach did several summersaults in the best way possible.

"See you Monday," Karl said, pocketing his phone before immediately taking off in George's direction. Sapnap stood still, watching him go with a dumbfounded expression.

Karl had turned and walked away before he could see Sapnap's face flush red, one of his hands going up to hover over the spot where just a moment prior Karl's lips had been.

And Sapnap didn't get to see the gigantic smile that broke onto Karl's face, a sudden euphoria making a happy giggle escape his mouth as he covered it with his hand.

Both of their hearts soared higher than the infinite expanse of stars surrounding their heads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this because of the note at the beginning of the chapter, yes, this is an intermission chapter! Basically it's still relevant to the story, but not super plot heavy in any way, and doesn't need to be read to understand the rest of the story (though events in it may be referenced later on, it's not super important to remember if that makes sense). I might make a few more of these just to continue to build on other characters and their relationships here and there, but these in between chapters won't happen often. The next chapter will be right back to the main storyline and where we left off :)
> 
> And now, to the rest of this authors note that I already know will be boringly extensive so everyone, feel free to skip!
> 
> HI GUYS!! IM BACK!! I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH HOW IS EVERYONE DOING TODAY??
> 
> Sorry for the lack of updates for...several weeks. I was experiencing really bad writer's block and it was stressing me out so I took some time away from the story. I ended up writing this chapter in the last few days to try and push myself out of it, and it worked! My creative juices are flowing once again, and I'm ready to continue writing the next few chapters! I have so much I want to do, you guys are not ready AT ALL.  
> ALSO THANK YOU GUYS FOR OVER 16K HITS WHAT THATS!! SO CRAZY!! All this love and support I came back to also played a HUGE factor in getting me back into the flow of things, so thanks to every single one of you for reading my story and to all of you that have dropped a comment, whether directed at me or just a reaction to the story, you have no idea how much it makes my day. I literally never thought this dumb story I crafted on a whim based off of two Minecraft streamers would get the attention it did. I am thankful for every single one of you, thank you for reading my story and being so patient with me :] ♥️
> 
> Alright that's enough sappyness, I'll leave the authors note here. If you read all of that, you are so freaking poggers and I love you so much but also why would you do that to yourself (joking...kinda)
> 
> ayo yall know the drill ;) 
> 
> TAKE BREAKS FROM YOUR PHONE (or any device, computer users aren't safe) !!
> 
> EAT YOUR MEALS !!
> 
> STAY HYDRATED !!
> 
> cause if you guys don't, I will cry 
> 
> and remember you are loved :]
> 
> if you claim you are loved by nobody, then that is such lies! Because I love you so so much dear reader!!
> 
> take care everyone♥️ 
> 
> (I'm going mimis now since it's midnight where I'm at, I'll be back to revise and edit the chapter tomorrow)
> 
> \- Kirbs -
> 
> psst...follow me on Twitter and instagram @kirbakiii (three i's) wink wonk
> 
> I'm super active on Twitter especially! I yell a lot on there be warned
> 
> Come talk to me, I'll always lend an ear no matter what bbs. My left one is practically falling off anyway thanks to Dream and George being gay gay homosexual gay👍 /j


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thoughts are thunk

It was a Saturday morning, the sunlight coming in through his window to disturb his sleeping. Groggily, Clay began to awake, blinking several times to adjust to the brightness, rubbing at his eye tiredly. He scooted up to a sitting position, stretching his arms above his head as he let out a long yawn.

"Oh, you're awake!" a voice said from the hallway, his door opening slightly as his little sister Drista peered in with a grin. Clay felt himself smile slightly, pulling the covers off of him and shifting to get off of the bed, stretching his legs in the process. He winced as his sprained foot touched the ground, but he bit back the pain.

He hadn't told his family he got injured and came home from the game early.

"Morning," he said in a husky voice as he walked over to the doorway, trying his best to hide his limp. He prayed Drista didn't notice, and he willed himself not to glance down at Drista's own leg. Just because he had gotten used to seeing a prosthetic in its place didn't mean a wave of guilt didn't wash over him every time he saw it.

"Mom is making us breakfast, Colton is already downstairs but Wilbur hasn't woken up yet," Drista informed him. Clay hummed lightly as the two made their way to the kitchen where their mother and little brother were located. His mom was in the middle of making them scrambled eggs, little Colton clinging onto her leg and talking loudly about a worm he found at his preschool the other day.

"Good morning," Clay spoke up, making Colton whip around to face him, a smile lighting up his face.

"Clay!" Colton shrieked too loudly for 9 in the morning, dashing to him and latching onto his brother's leg instead. 

The injured one.

Clay let out a strained laugh to cover his grimace, ruffling the little boys light brown hair as he peered up at him with big, hazel eyes.

Colton was the splitting image of their dad.

"Good morning, Clay," his mom smiled softly at him, Clay feeling himself mirroring the expression. "How was the game last night? Sorry I wasn't awake when you boys came home."

Clay felt his heart ache at the look on his mother's face. His mother was beautiful for her age, but now she looked tired. There were worry lines under her green eyes that were usually bright but for the past few months looked sullen, and her movements were slower than usual. Clay came up beside her, taking one of the eggs from her hands and getting to work himself.

"Oh, Clay, you don't have to-"

"I want to help, mom," Clay cut her off softly, flashing her an honest smile that made her give in and allow him. "It's okay you weren't awake, the game went well. I'm pretty sure we won."

"Pretty sure? Wouldn't you know since you were literally playing in the game?"   
Drista laughed innocently, and Clay had to will himself not to face palm at his own slip up.

"I mean we did. Win. We won," Clay rasped out quickly, mentally praying the other team didn't manage to turn the game around at the last second. Drista jokingly rolled her eyes at him and thankfully didn't question it anymore, turning to Colton to playfully poke at his face, making the younger boy try to bite her finger.

"That's good honey, I'm proud of you," his mom said softly, placing her small hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly. Clay smiled at her, hoping she couldn't see the guilt that was chewing him up inside on his expression.

He felt terrible lying to his family and keeping his injury a secret from them, but he didn't want to worry his mother more. Besides, it was just a sprained ankle. He had no right to complain about it when his little sister suffered an accident that took her whole leg.

"Oh, hello," Wilbur came up to the kitchen entrance, looking like a walking zombie with his hair in disarray and his white t-shirt and sweatpants slightly crumpled from sleeping. Everybody echoed a greeting back as he made his way to the table a few feet from the kitchen island. 

"Would you like some help with the food, Mrs. Block?" Wilbur asked, though his voice was dripping with sleep. Clay couldn't help but smile fondly at the taller boy who at the moment looked like an oversized teddy bear.

"It's alright, Wilbur, Clay is already helping me out," his mom waved him away, moving to the other side of the kitchen island to reach the pantry, getting out some plates and utensils. "It's almost ready, anyhow. And you don't have to call me that, please call me Caroline."

Wilbur hummed a soft "okay" before turning to Clay, his eyes glancing down to his leg. Clay felt his stomach drop.

"Oh, Clay is your le-"

"Wilbur, did you enjoy the game last night? I was so tired last night that I didn't get to ask you what you thought about it after the game ended," Clay cut him off, widening his eyes slightly to try to convey to the Brit to play along. Wilbur looked confused at first, probably thinking that they hadn't stayed till the game ended, but thankfully a look of understanding crossed his face as he understood what Clay was trying to tell him.

"Oh, of course, the game was fun. When you guys made that final touchdown, now that was impressive," Wilbur nodded, and Clay practically deflated in relief at how quickly he went along with him.

"I wish I could've gone to the game," Drista whined, moving to sit down and slouch on one of the chairs. Clay and his mother exchanged a look.

"It was pretty late and I wouldn't have been able to take you, Catherine. Maybe next game," their mom assured. Drista pouted but didn't complain any further.

The 5 of them gathered around the kitchen table once their food was ready, indulging in light conversation and enjoying their breakfast. It still fascinated Clay how easily Wilbur slipped into living with them, and how he had had his back time and time again.

About half an hour later, Clay's mother had left for work and Clay was in charge of taking care of his siblings at home. He was in the middle of washing the dishes, leaning his weight on his good leg, when Wilbur approached him.

"You haven't told your family about your injury," Wilbur stated more than asked. Clay was glad Colton was in his room upstairs playing legos, and Drista on the other side of the house watching a movie.

"I haven't," Clay finished washing the last plate, placing it to a side before shutting the sink and drying his hands with a towel. "And I don't plan to."

"Why not?" Wilbur asked. He didn't sound like he was judging his decision, but rather was curious about the reason. Clay glanced away from him, furrowing his brows slightly.

"Cause it's just a dumb injury. It's not a big deal, and I don't want them to get worried for nothing."

"Clay, you also threw up."

"And that was for another reason," Clay countered, his mind involuntarily flashing to his ex-girlfriend Sam and what he overheard at the high school. The memory on its own was enough for annoyance to begin bubbling inside of him. "Besides, I'm feeling fine now. So drop it."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Wilbur backed up a bit, and instantly Clay felt guilty for snapping, all of the negative emotions seeping out of him as he sighed heavily.

"Sorry, Wilbur. I would just prefer if they didn't know, so please don't mention it to them."

"I understand. And I won't," Wilbur smiled at him reassuringly, Clay reflecting it. And more softly, he added, "Is it because of your sister?"

Clay took a step back like Wilbur had just slapped him, the question one he hadn't expected. But Wilbur was a smart guy, he shouldn't have assumed he wouldn't figure it out.

"You don't have to talk about it, don't worry. But I can see the way you look at your sister's, well..." Wilbur gestured to the general direction of where Drista had left the kitchen, and Clay knew what he meant. "I don't know what happened to her, or what the story there is, but you always seem guilty when you look at it. As if you're blaming yourself it's there in the first place."

Clay remained quiet, pursing his lips into a thin line as he stared at the counter beside the sink. Wilbur was so spot on that he didn't know how to even begin attempting to rebuke his statement. His silence was enough confirmation to Wilbur that he had gotten it right, anyway.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure nobody blames you for it. And your sister loves you, and she looks up to you, I can see that clear as day. Catherine, or what is it you call her? Drista?" Wilbur laughed lightly, the sound making a corner of Clay's lips tug upwards. "I'm positive she doesn't blame you for it, either."

Clay remained silent, not knowing where to even begin to make sense of everything that was spiraling in his head at that moment, and much less put it into words. Thankfully he didn't have to say anything, because Wilbur lightly patted his shoulder with an encouraging smile and walked off in the direction of the stairs.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Wakey wakey!" Karl jumped on George's bed, practically sending the smaller boy bouncing off of it. He fumbled in his blankets, his hair an absolute mess as he wiped at a streak of drool at the corner of his mouth.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Karl," George groaned, turning to get comfortable back under his covers only for Karl to flip him around again. "Let me sleep!"

"No, Georgie, it's already 12 o clock in the afternoon!"

"It's a Saturday!"

"GET OUT OF BED!!"

Karl practically shoved George out of his covers, sending him flailing to the side as he attempted to latch onto anything he could, but to no avail. The Brit practically flopped onto the ground beside his bed with a thud, effectively taking out the remaining drowsiness out of him.

"WHAT THE HELL."

"Breakfast has been ready for over an hour, come and eat!" Karl sing songed as he dashed out of their shared room. George watched him go with a glare, but his irritation didn't last long as he sighed and fondly shook his head at him.

He might as well get ready for the day now.

Just as George was beginning to get up, he spotted something slightly sticking out from under his bed. He leaned down and grabbed it, his eyes widening at what he was holding.

It was a pair of white, clout goggles.

His mind flashed back to the party a few days prior, to "Magic in the Hamptons" blasting out of the speakers, to the crowd of bodies surrounding him and dancing along to the song.

To the boy that had been in front of him, taking off the clout goggles from his own head and placing them on George's head, all while singing along to the lyrics.

He thought of how much fun he had that day, how he had let loose and danced along with him despite not knowing how to.

How big Clay had been smiling at him. His laughter flowing out of him, the sound of it like a melody of its own. 

The feeling of Clay's hand in his as he spun him in a circle before pulling him to his chest, his other arm looping around the small of George's back and dipping him backwards. 

The feeling of Clay's cool finger hooking under his chin and tilting his head upwards, the closeness allowing George to see the dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose, like a million, tiny stars in the darkest of night skies. 

George didn't even realize he was grinning stupidly until he glanced at his reflection on Clay's clout goggles.

His smile dropped as he suddenly became too aware of the fluttery feeling in his stomach, of the way his heart was quickening in his chest, its insistent pounding deafening in his ears. 

What the hell?

"Hey Gogmeister, are you coming yet?" Karl appeared at the doorway once more, raising his eyebrows when he spotted the goggles George was now clutching a little too tightly. "What's that?"

"Uh, it's Clay's clout goggles. I found them under my bed," George croaked out, clearing his throat a little too loudly. Karl's eyes widened the slightest bit, and George felt his face flush at the implications. He rushed to explain, "He lent them to me. During the party. I just, uh, forgot to give them back, I guess. And they must have fallen at some point. Clay never entered this room."

Karl raised a brow at him. "Are you sure about that?"

"Sure about what," George echoed in confusion. Karl seemed to remember himself and straighten up, waving him off with a "nothing, never mind" before leaving down the hall again. George stared at the empty doorway, his mind replaying their conversation to attempt to decipher what he meant.

"Clay never entered this room."

"Are you sure about that?"

He screwed his eyes shut, racking his brain in an attempt to recall a moment in which Clay may have been in the room. He groaned in frustration, carding his hand through his hair only for it to flip back into place. 

He hated that he couldn't remember a good chunk of that night and that no matter how hard he tried to recall anything, his brain always drew up blank. It was more annoying than trying to remember what you were just about to do, but your brain fails to remind you, making you have that nagging feeling at the back of your head until you recall what it was or forget the fact that you were trying to remember something in the first place. 

He also felt as though he had disappointed Clay, somehow, by not remembering. The look on his face when he came to the realization that George had no clue what he was talking about...the thought of it made George's gut churn in guilt.

He sighed heavily as he dropped Clay's clout goggles on the nightstand beside his bed, right next to the pile of clothes Clay had returned to him last night. George stared at it for a second before exiting the room to follow Karl down the stairs. 

He would have to return the clout goggles to Clay on Monday, and then get to the bottom of what happened at that party once and for all. 

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"Dude, you should've seen Skeppy. He was super against it at first and seemed seconds awayfrom backing out once and for all, but after he had a little chat with Bad, I don't know, it's like something shifted. Cause after that, he was, dare I say, the most confident one out of all of us, strutting around in that skirt as if he wore it to sleep!"

"Wow, that's amazing," Clay chuckled in response as Sapnap continued excitedly recounting the events of last night.

"Yeah, dude, it was crazy. Even Techno was surprisingly into it. Well- as into it as Techno can be. He mostly seemed bored, but I think even he enjoyed himself. Started preaching something about toxic masculinity and how clothes have no gender when this random guy gave us a dirty look after it ended- it was pretty intense and kind of badass, I think the guy almost peed his pants."

Clay felt a genuine laugh bubble out of him that escalated to a wheeze as he plopped backwards onto his unmade bed, his smile stretching from ear to ear as Sapnap chuckled lightly on the other end of the line. 

"Callahan was having loads of fun, he kept twirling in circles because he seemed to like how the skirt did that fluttery thing while spinning. And Sam seemed a little shy at first but I could tell he had fun, too."

"What about you?" Clay spoke up, shifting his phone to his other ear as Sapnap let out a low whistle.

"I looked sexy as hell."

Clay laughed loudly again, rolling his eyes fondly at his best friend. "Whatever you say, Sap."

"I did, okay? You totally missed out, my sex appeal was through the roof. I even got two people asking me to take a selfie with them- one of them was Karl, but it still counts."

"And the other one?"

"This girl, a freshman I think," Sapnap said almost dismissively. Clay whistled teasingly, making Sapnap groan and begin to stammer. "I don't know who she was, but that's not the point. The point is that I definitely seduced a lot of ladies with my little tutu."

"And Karl," Clay teased, and was met with silence on the other end. He had to look at his phone screen to check the call hadn't ended. "Sap? You there?"

"Oh, yeah sorry I'm...I'm here," Sapnap spoke up, but he seemed like he wasn't there, mentally at least, his voice sounding far away. He heard Sapnap clear his throat. "Hey dude, random question."

"Yeah? What's up?"

"Is kissing someone on the cheek considered flirting? Like, not messing around flirting like we do cause we obviously don't mean it, but actual flirting?"

"You don't mean it?" Clay complained jokingly, making Sapnap mutter a "dude, shut the hell up" as Clay let out a wheeze. "I mean, I guess it depends in what context. Like, I can kiss you on the cheek and I won't mean it in that way.

"You wouldn't mean it?" Sapnap mimicked Clay's voice from earlier, making another breathy laugh bubble out of Clay. Sapnap was chuckling as he continued. "I guess I get what you mean, it's just...okay, take this fake scenario-"

"Are you going to do that thing where you say it's a fake scenario or it's your friend's situation when it's actually your own," Clay interrupted. Sapnap huffed in frustration.

"Dude, no, this is just an example, now listen: let's say you're friends with this person, and there has kind of already been some weird tension between the two of you that you don't know what to make of it, but you both kind of just ignore it, if that makes sense?"

Without warning, Clay's mind instantly went to George, perfectly slotting him into the situation Sapnap was describing. 

He thought of the night of the party, Clay laying in George's lap in the middle of the woods looking up at the brunette as he raked his hands through Clay's hair. 

He thought of George's warm fingers wiping away the trail of tears from his cheeks, his touch so delicate he might as well have imagined it. 

He thought of George pulling him into bed with him later that night, the pair close enough that Clay could feel the breath of the other fanning his face and just barely make out a very light splattering of freckles over the bridge of his nose and on one of his cheeks, something he hadn't noticed before.

He thought of George's hand lightly brushing over one of Clay's cheeks, trailing it over the bridge of his nose to the other one, a fascinated look in his chocolate eyes as he openly stared at the blond's freckles.

Clay felt his face warm uncomfortably. "Sure. I think I get what you mean."

"Okay, and so since neither of you has brought it up, it's just kind of sitting there at the back of your mind, and sometimes it makes you overly aware of certain things you do with the person that might not even be that big of a deal to them, but for some reason to you, it seems to be."

Clay thought of how after the party, he suddenly started getting nervous around George for no reason at all. How he was overly aware of every action the boy did in his proximity, no matter how small, and began overthinking even the shortest of interactions with him, out of seemingly no where.

"Uh huh," Clay stammered out, hearing his own heart pounding loudly in his ears as he swallowed past his dry throat.

"And then let's just say- this person pulls something like, uh, kissing your, um, cheek. And out of like, nowhere," Sapnap stuttered on his end, and Clay had to drape his arm over his face to cover how red it was becoming, trying so hard to not to picture George in that type of scenario.

He failed, of course.

His mind was already imagining how George's mouth would feel pressing onto Clay's cheek. It would feel soft, he was sure, the kiss so light it would leave his stomach fluttering for days. He would move on from his cheek to press his lips to his forehead, and then maybe the tip of his nose, and then move lower to press his lips to his m-

"FUCK!" Clay shouted suddenly, jumping up to a sitting position as he dragged his hand down his burning face, trying to hide his shaky breathing. The call fell silent.

"...dude, you okay?"

"Sorry, yeah, I'm fine," Clay replied quickly, racking his brain for an excuse before his eyes landed on his injured foot. "I, uh, hit my ankle against the side of my bed."

"Ouch, dude, the sprained one?" Clay could practically hear him wince on the other end, his voice obviously concerned, and he felt guilt prick at him for lying. "You have to be careful, we wouldn't want your injury to escalate into something worse."

Clay hadn't even considered that his sprained ankle could worsen, but he hummed in acknowledgment.

Sapnap sighed. "So yeah, where was I? Oh, right, so they kiss you on the cheek out of nowhere, and then just run off. How would you react to that? What does it even mean?"

"I think it means the person likes you. It would make sense, wouldn't it? Nobody thinks about kissing someone if they think of them in a platonic sense," Clay responded carefully, ignoring how saying it made him feel like a hypocrite. "Especially if they actually, you know, go through with it and then just run off."

"I guess," Sapnap responded softly, sounding lost in thought as he considered Clay's words. Clay could hear shifting in the other end before he spoke up again. "So what do I do now?"

"Not your own situation, huh," Clay chuckled, and began wheezing as the mic of his phone peaked with Sapnap yelling profanities at him. Clay finally calmed down enough to ask, "Well, do you like this person like that?"

Sapnap finally fell silent, a few seconds going by without either of them saying anything. There was a shaky sigh, and then he spoke up.

"I think I do."

Clay felt himself grinning. He had not a single clue to what girl Sapnap was referring to, but he would support him no matter who it was. 

"Then what're you waiting for?" Clay teased, and Sapnap let out a strained laugh that made his brows furrow. "Sap? What is it?"

"It's just...admitting it out loud is making it finally feel...real. Now that I've said it, it's like I can't go back to pretending I don't feel that way and it's-" Sapnap let out another strained laugh. "It's scary."

Clay flopped back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling above his head.

"Hey, Sap?" Clay muttered.

"Yeah?"

Clay fell silent, shutting his eyes tightly as the image of a boy with chocolate brown hair cut a little too shortly and equally dark, brown eyes appeared in his mind. He thought of his teasing smile, of his laugh that he enjoyed listening to so much. Of the way he said his name, like he was someone worth being called out to.

Clay let out a shaky breath and braced himself.

"I like George," he whispered the words, testing out the way they fell out of his mouth and filled the silence of his room. The way the admission made him feel. In a slightly louder, more sure voice, he repeated them. "I like George. In that way. I really, really like him, Sap."

The call was silent, and for a second Clay felt his heart stutter in panic when Sapnap finally spoke up.

"I'm glad you told me," he said, and Clay could hear the smile in his voice as Clay exhaled in relief. "Is this the first time you admit it out loud?"

"It's the first time I admit it at all," Clay responded honestly, smiling up at the ceiling. "I hadn't even admitted it to myself, really. Like I knew, but I didn't want to even think about it, you know?"

"Sure," Sapnap responded unconvinced, making Clay rolled his eyes as the other let out a small laugh. "Kidding, I know what you mean."

"Yeah," Clay sighed, and the two fell into a comfortable silence. Clay eventually spoke up again. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Who's the girl?"

Clay heard Sapnap suck in a sharp breath. There was a moment of silence, before he quietly admitted, "It's not a girl."

"Oh," Clay said in surprise, his eyes widening. "Well-"

"It's Karl."

"KARL?!" Clay blurted out, shooting up from his laying position, effectively caught off guard. Clay could hear Sapnap fall into a string of laughter as Clay struggled to speak. "Sorry it's just, you really just- admitted that, okay. I didn't- I didn't see that coming, if I'm being honest, like I knew you two always flirted but I never thought any of it was serious and that admission was just- it was like back to back it surprised me-"

"Yeah, I'm surprised with myself that I just admitted that out loud," Sapnap laughed, but he sounded as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "And I lied before, the fake scenario happened yesterday at the end of the game."

"That part I'm not surprised about," Clay chuckled, and he could imagine Sapnap rolling his eyes at him. "Dude that's- that's great. Karl is a really great guy."

"He is," Sapnap agreed almost wistfully, making Clay grin. "I guess we both took 'bros before hoes' a little too seriously."

Clay burst into laughter that fell into wheezes, and soon Sapnap was laughing along with him, the two of them giddy with the admissions they finally said out loud. Eventually they calmed down again, but Clay could imagine Sapnap was still smiling from ear to ear, just as he was now. 

"Okay, well, that was great bonding time and all but I need to go and make myself some food. I forgot to eat breakfast and my stomach is starting to speak to me."

"Skipping breakfast, I'm disappointed in you," Clay joked.

"Yeah yeah, don't worry, I'll eat right now, mom," Sapnap huffed, Clay laughing softly in response. "I'll get going now. Talk to you later."

"Later, weirdo," Clay grinned fondly before tapping the end call button, the silence afterward immediately filling his room.

He had finally said it.

He had finally admitted what he had been too scared to even think about for the past few days.

And out loud, no less.

Sapnap had been right. The admission made it feel all the more real, and he knew he wouldn't be able to chalk up his feelings as anything else any longer.

Clay liked George.

His face heated up as an involuntary smile broke onto his face, flopping back down onto his bed and hugging his pillow tightly as he squirmed around like a lovesick school girl.

"George, George, George, George," Clay sang to himself over and over, rolling around on his bed and getting tangled up in his own bedsheets. 

"Dear georgenotfound, it appears I have grown a strong fondness towards you. Please do me the honor of marrying me as soon as this Monday," Clay typed away at the empty air above him, pretending to send the brunette an email. He giggled at his own dumb joke. "Yours truly, Dream. Who is actually Clay! Surprise! Marry me."

He felt himself get flustered at his own words, covering his burning face with his two hand.

"Georgeeee, what have you done to meeeee," he complained to his ceiling. He shifted to reach for his phone that had fallen off his bed in the midst of his scrambling, opening it up to Spotify. He put his liked songs on shuffle, the first beats of the song playing loudly out of his phone's speaker.

He read the name of it and felt his face flush again.

Sleeping With a Friend by Neon Trees.

He quickly skipped the song, his heart stuttering. He didn't even want to begin entertaining thoughts of that nature. He would probably develop several heart problems. 

The next song started playing. 

Boyfriend by Big Time Rush.

He nearly dropped his phone as he scrambled to skip it as well, his face flushing a darker red, if that was even possible.

The next song that played was something Clay could manage to get through without possible heart failure.

Treasure by Bruno Mars.

"Baby squirrel, you's a sexy mother-fucker," a monotone, robotic sounding voice said, and Clay couldn't help but burst out into wheezes at imagining saying such a line to George.

As Bruno Mars began singing, Clay shifted up to a sitting position, singing along with the song and drumming the air to the beat of it (and maybe also thinking about George). As the song began nearing the chorus, he jumped off his bed just as it reached it.

"Treasure! Oh shit, ouch-" Clay crumpled to the ground beside his bed, a surge of pain shooting from his ankle up his whole leg. He clutched at his throbbing foot, wincing painfully.

In the midst of his high, he had forgotten about his sprained foot and proceeded to stupidly jump off his bed which had, of course, hurt very badly. 

He felt as if somebody had just dumped freezing cold water over his head, or yanked him down from cloud 9 and forced him back into reality. 

His aching foot brought him back to the game on Friday, to the conversation he had with Sam as she tended to it, to finding out George did not remember anything Clay had told him that night at the party, what he overheard about his ex-girlfriend and how she had been cheating on him.

He suddenly felt light headed, leaning his head onto the bed behind him as he tried to even his breathing. His heart throbbed painfully at the reminder of everything that went down, and how awkward it had been between him and George before he left the game.

He had opened up completely to George and though he knows it wasn't his fault he had forgotten all of it, he had been under the influence when he told him, it still hurt. He didn't blame him at all, but he didn't know how he was going to be able to go back to knowing nobody knows the depth of his worries except himself. 

He straightened his back, turning to grab his phone that was still on his bed. He clicked pause on Spotify and switched over to his contacts, typing in an "al" in the search bar. The name he was looking for popped up, and he clicked on the contact, staring at the little call button. 

He had been bottling up everything that had happened for so long that finally talking about the accident, his worries, his failed relationship and everything else out loud to George had been like a dam was burst in two, all of the water rushing out with nothing to stop it. 

When he found out George didn't remember any of it, it was like a group of amateur workers had gotten to work and attempted to fix that broken dam and stop the flow of water. 

But the damage had been done.

There were cracks, and at any moment the water would be too much to withhold. 

He couldn't just go back to holding it in and dealing with it himself any longer. He knew he needed to talk to someone about it, even if it wasn't George. And he was finally ready. 

It was time to finally reach out to his friends.

He called the person, bringing his phone up to his ear as it rung for several seconds. Clay bit his lip nervously, nearly flinching when the call went through and the person picked up.

"Hello? Clay?" a soft voice sounded from his phone's speaker. Clay felt himself grin. 

"Hey Alyssa, are you free right now?"

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George checked his email after finishing breakfast to find no response from Dream. 

He furrowed his brow and refreshed the page multiple times, but still no response. He sighed and closed his laptop.

They were probably just busy anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY HEY HEY EVERYBODY, BACK TO BACK UPDATE?? LETS GO?????
> 
> Dudes I literally speedran this chapter today are you guys proud of me >:] that also means I have to go back and revise it later rip
> 
> I can't promise every new chapter will come this fast though so hope you enjoyed this quick update! I actually loved writing it, my favorite part was writing the phone call between Sapnap and Dream because I adore those two idiots
> 
> But let's go bb Dream is becoming self aware! We're getting somewhere!!! And as for George...he's still a little lost but he's got the spirit
> 
> Funny story, the songs Dream played on shuffle got chosen by putting one of my own Spotify playlists on shuffle and the first three songs that played worked out great LMAO so that was pretty cool
> 
> I always end up rambling and making these author notes longer than necessary so I'll end this here, remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated! Hearts in chat for all of u!!
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay and Alyssa talk while George remembers something from the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are supposed to be images in the text convos between Minx and George but for some reason they’re not showing up, I’m trying to get that fixed but for now if you want to see the images you’ll have to see them through the Wattpad version 
> 
> here’s the link:
> 
> https://www.wattpad.com/1027962732?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&wp_page=reading_part_end&wp_uname=kirbakii&wp_originator=s%2B5EdP%2BlwzVSZ%2BapeNziyYTSjp3T6731IkK61cxVRJlVyP41Wb3fyVcvA6i0rXturJkfZsa9Xvpesnsz7UiwrDKxr5t8N7e6KttncDwJVXGIrxehJujSWJy1Z82ARK2w

"I'll meet you there then?"

"Oh no it's okay, I can drive us there! You don't have to walk."

"But-" Clay began to protest, but was cut off by Alyssa's stern voice.

"I'm going to go pick you up, okay? I saw that injury you got at the game. You need to rest you foot. Besides, I was already driving around before you called me."

"Fine," Clay gave in, and he could hear the smile in Alyssa's voice.

"Alright. See you in a second, I'm almost at your street."

Clay ended the call and got up from the floor, half limping to the closet to get a set of clean clothes. He changed into his favorite green hoodie and some jeans, leaning on his bed to put on his black, nike tennis shoes despite the pain that shot through his foot while doing so. He grimaced, but ignored it.

Once he was ready he moved out of his bedroom and began making his way down the hall, noticing that Wilbur's door was ajar. He peeked in to find Wilbur sitting on his bed with his guitar in hand, playing a few notes and humming a melody before writing something down in a notepad beside him.

Clay lightly knocked on the open door, making Wilbur flick his gaze up at him.

"Hey. I'm going out for a bit with a friend, she's coming by to pick me up. Sorry to ask this of you but could you watch my siblings for me? I don't think I'll be gone for too long," Clay shifted a bit in the doorway, fiddling with his fingers as he waited to see his reaction. Wilbur gave him a smile and he felt himself relax.

"Sure man, don't worry about them. I've been told I'm a very good babysitter," Wilbur lifted his chin a bit proudly, Clay grinning back at him.

"Great. Thank you so much," Clay sighed in relief as he began turning to walk away.

"Wait, Clay."

Clay turned back towards Wilbur. "What's up?"

"You know this bedroom is next to yours, right?" Wilbur said slowly. At Clay's confused look he sighed and added, "The walls are practically paper thin."

Clay blinked at him for a few seconds before realization dawned on him, instantly feeling his face heat up as his mouth slacked open. "You mean you heard-"

"Everything," Wilbur finished his sentence with an amused nod. "Yup."

"Oh god," Clay whispered, covering his red face with his two hands in shame. "This is so embarrassing."

"I found it pretty amusing, especially the part where you wrote a love letter of sorts asking for George's hand in marriage-"

"Please stop talking," Clay cut him off quickly as Wilbur burst out laughing at his flustered state.

"Or- or the part where you were saying George's name like 50 times-"

"I only said it like, 5 times," Clay grumbled, dragging a hand down his face tiredly. Wilbur was clearly finding the whole situation incredibly amusing, setting his guitar down beside him as he threw his head back in laughter.

"You have no idea how hard it was to not burst out laughing while listening to that," Wilbur chuckled lightly once he had calmed down a bit. Clay bit his lip as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"Are you going to tell him?"

Wilbur's smile dropped as he looked at Clay in confusion. "What? No, of course not."

"But he's your friend," Clay countered weakly, leaning his weight against the doorframe. He looked back up to see Wilbur staring at him intently.

"Clay, I won't tell George. Yes he's my friend, but it's not my place to tell him your feelings towards him. You're my friend too, and I wouldn't betray your trust like that, much less out you to anybody. Only shitty people do that." Wilbur's face softened a bit. "You will tell him when you're ready, but if you never do? That's okay too. I'm more than happy to take this secret to my grave."

"Now that's a little dramatic," Clay laughed lightly, Wilbur rolling his eyes at him but smiling nonetheless.

"Point is, I swear to you won't tell anyone. Even George."

Clay smiled softly at the taller male. "Thank you Wilbur."

"Don't thank me, it's just basic human decency," Wilbur shrugged him off, but he was grinning fondly back at the blond boy. "And good luck with that one. He's never been in a relationship before, or at least that I know of."

Clay felt his cheeks warm. "I never said I wanted to be in a relationship with him."

"Oh right, you wanted to skip straight to marriage. I forgot you're a speed runner," Wilbur teased as Clay let out a huff of annoyance, making the other laugh lightly. "I've been holding you for too long, go away now. Shoo shoo."

"How thoughtful of you," Clay drawled sarcastically, but he returned the smile. He waved at Wilbur before making his way down the hall and to the stairs, going down them two at a time. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket from an incoming call.

"Hey," he picked up.

"I'm outside your house," Alyssa responded in the other end.

"I'll be out in a second."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George was lying on his side on his bed, staring at nothing in particular. He didn't have homework over the weekend and he didn't have anything to do, so after checking his email several times and staring at passed already opened ones, he had given up and set his laptop aside. Flopping down on his bed and doing absolutely nothing seemed like a good way to spend his Saturday anyway.

His eyes fluttered closed as his breathing began to slow, feeling himself begin to succumb to the grips of a light slumber when the back of his mind reminded him of his brief conversation with Karl earlier.

"Clay never entered this room."

"Are you sure about that?"

His eyes flew back open as he snorted. Maybe it was his drowsy mind, in between awareness and unconsciousness, but now that he rethought of that line, he couldn't help but hear John Cena saying the phrase instead of Karl. He let out a soft laugh.

He could no longer take the statement seriously. Thanks, brain.

But something about the way Karl had looked saying it, as if he knew something George didn't. As if he knew for a fact that Clay had been in this room that night.

He still wondered if it was something he had forgotten. And if he had, and Clay had really been in this room, was it with him? What had they been doing? Or was it something unrelated with him entirely?

He groaned in frustration as his own mind started coming up with weird scenarios and implications. He quickly discarded each of them, ignoring the heat that rose to his cheeks at the mere thought.

George was starting to feel himself slip back into sleep when he suddenly shifted his hand upwards, reaching out as if to poke at the empty air beside him without much thought behind the action.

"Dots," he heard himself murmur. Except he hadn't spoken, he knew that, but his voice echoed in his mind all the same.

He heard a soft laugh, like the delicate chime of bells.

"They're freckles, George," a voice responded. A familiar one.

Behind the darkness of his shut eyes, he saw himself reach forward to poke on the powdering of freckles atop smooth, ivory skin.

"So many," he whispered, his mouth moving as he heard it, this time. 

His eyes flashed open. He immediately sat upright on his bed, staring down at the empty space beside him as his mind began to race.

Had that been a memory just now?

George scrambled to try to grip onto what he had just seen a second prior, half asleep but not yet dreaming.

He had been in bed, lying on his side, and right there laying right beside him had been...

"Clay," George whispered at the spot where he had been the night of the party, as if saying his name out loud would materialize him into existence.

Why had he been in bed with Clay??

"Think, George, think," he muttered to himself, dropping his head into his hands as he attempted to rack his brain for any other memory, or for context at the very least, but once again he came up blank.

"KARL!" George shouted suddenly, and he heard the pattering of quick footsteps bounding down the hall before Karl appeared at his doorway.

"Georgie, what is it?" Karl said quickly, looking around the room as if he would spot an intruder or a giant, human-eating spider. But when he took a glance at George's face, his eyebrows furrowed. "Why is your face all red?"

"Why were Clay and I in bed together the night of the party?" George asked in one breath, feeling his face grow warmer as his mind scrambled to come up with its own explanation. Karl's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, you remembered?"

"No, well kind of. I only remembered like two seconds of us in bed and now my brain is trying to fill in the blanks and it"s kind of freaking me out!"

Karl hesitated a second in the doorway before walking into the room, sitting down on the corner of George's bed.

"Ok, well, I brought Sapnap back to this room because he was drunk out of his mind and couldn't drive home, but the door to the bedroom was locked."

"Locked?!" George yelled, unable to stop his mind from coming up with a million reasons why they would lock the door.

"No, no, George, listen to me. I unlocked the door with a bobby pin, and you two were lying in bed together. But it's okay! You guys were just cuddling-"

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE THE SITUATION BETTER, KARL," George's voice raised in borderline hysteria as he hid his face in a pillow he had at some point began clutching to his chest. He could feel his face burning.

"Nothing happened, George, all right? The two of you had just changed clothes and fallen asleep together-"

"Oh my god, that's right!" George remembered waking up the next morning in a fresh set of clothes, and it explained why Clay had given him the hoodie and pants he had borrowed last night at the game. George felt the color drain from his face. "Oh my god."

"What? What is it, did you remember something else?"

George turned to look at Karl, his intense gaze practically burning holes in the other's eyes. He opened his mouth to respond, but no words came out. He tried again. "Did...did Clay and I...?"

Karl tilted his head in confusion. George lowered his voice to practically a whisper.

"Did we...you know..." George trailed off, his face still a bright red as he made a thrusting motion with his hands.

"My god, George, you did not just do that-"

"Did we?? Did we, Karl????"

"No, of course not-"

"We were both in a change of clothes, you found us together in bed cuddling, we locked the door????" George was beginning to sound hysterical, counting off every reason to flip out. "How can you be sure-"

"George! Listen to me!" Karl grabbed onto both of his shoulders roughly, making George look at him with wide eyes. "You two didn't sleep together, okay? Well, you slept in the same bed, but you two didn't- you get what I mean."

"But-"

"No buts, Clay was sober. He would never take advantage of anybody that's under the influence. He's not an idiot," Karl finished reassuringly. George swallowed roughly before nodding.

"Right. You're right," George agreed, deflating a bit as Karl let go of him. "Sorry for freaking out."

"Hey, it's understandable. If I had been in bed with my crush and not remembered what we did, my imagination would probably run wild, too."

The two fell into a comfortable silence before George jerked his head back up at Karl, realizing what he said.

"Clay is not my crush???" George squeaked in surprise, and he hated that the sentence had come out as a question. Karl gave him a confused look before his mouth dropped open in an 'o' shape.

"He's not? My bad, I thought you liked him for a second," he shrugged it off like it was no big deal, but George could feel his heart rate begin to pick up and his face flush in embarrassment at the misunderstanding.

"What made you think I liked Clay? I'm straight, you know," George insisted. Karl smiled softly at his words, looking down at his feet, his gaze far away.

"I used to say the same thing," he muttered lowly before chuckling, and George cocked his head at him in confusion. He waved him off. "Never mind, you just always seemed uncomfortable talking to girls that approached you at school but I shouldn't have assumed."

"That's because I don't even know them. Besides, I already like someone, who's a girl," George added quickly. Karl looked at him carefully, one of his eyebrows drawing upward.

"You do?"

"Yeah."

Karl seemed to be racking his brain trying to figure out who before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, Minx? I had been teasing you, but you actually like her?"

"I mean, I don't know her that well but, sure. If I got to know her better I could easily fall for her," George went along with it, not feeling like a liar since technically he was attracted to her, and she always seemed to catch him off guard. First at the party, and then at the football game.

It was kind of exhilarating, and he liked it.

"I don't know how to tell you this, George, but she and Schlatt- you know, the guy with the mutton chops," Karl gestured at the sides of his face. "They've kind of been on and off for years."

"Are they together now?"

"Well, no..."

"Then? I mean, I don't know if it was just me but she was kind of flirting with me at the game," George pointed out. Karl thought about it.

"I guess you are right. She probably does like you." 

"You think so?" George grinned excitedly. Karl gave him a look George couldn't decipher before silently nodding in agreement. "Awesome."

"What're you going to do about it?" Karl asked curiously. George fell backwards onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling with a smile.

"I don't know, I guess I could try to start talking to her more, see where it goes."

"Want her number?"

George lurched up to a sitting position, staring at Karl with big eyes.

"You would give it to me?"

"Well, I would ask her if I could give you her number first, of course," Karl added.

"Of course," George nodded, watching as Karl pulled out his phone and opened it, swiping at his screen before beginning to type. "Wait, right now?"

"Why not?" Karl grinned mischievously at him before turning back down to continue typing, vocalizing his text message. "Hey Minx, was just wondering if I could give George your number since he's being a big baby about it."

"What- no don't say that," George said quickly as he tried to grab hold of Karl's phone, but Karl was faster than him and held it out of arms reach.

"He has a big, mega, ultra huge crush on you by the way," he continued dictating with a light giggle, and George began scrambling to get the other's hand as Karl began outright laughing, his free hand coming up to cover his mouth.

"Karl, don't send that!" George shouted in bewilderment as he threw himself at the other, pinning him down to the bed and snatching the phone out of his hand. He stared at the screen.

Karl [02:19]

hey would it be alright if I gave George ur number?

(Read)

"Karl, she read it!" George dropped the phone, quickly scrambling off of the other. Karl picked it up and looked at the screen.

"Oh yeah, she's typing," he said, and George felt his heart lurch into his throat. A few seconds passed before Karl looked back up at him. "She says sure."

"Let me see," George demanded as he moved to sit beside Karl and peer over his shoulder. 

Karl [02:19]

hey would it be alright if I gave George ur number?

Minx my beloved [02:20]

sure :)

"See?" Karl laughed softly, pushing George's face away from his space. "Give me your phone, I'll put in her number."

George did, and Karl input her number into his contacts. He held it back out to him before standing up from his bed, making the bed shift without his weight on it. "Have fun~."

George stuck his tongue out at Karl as he left, turning back down to the new contact on his phone. He put "Minx" as the contact name, tapping on the message icon and staring at their empty conversation. He began typing.

George [3:25]

hey Minx it's George

(Read)

That was fast, George thought. He stared at the little typing icon at the bottom of his screen in anticipation, his heart rate spiking.

George [3:25]

hey Minx it's George

Minx [3:26]

hello george 

Minx [3:26]

how come u wanted my #?

George [3:26]

do I need a reason ?

Minx [3:27]

yes

Minx [3:27]

ur reason, hand it over

Minx [3:28]

[image of Pusheen cocking a gun] 

George [3:29]

I guess I just wanted to talk to you

Minx [3:29]

simp

George [3:29]

wth

George [3:30]

I'm not

Minx [3:30]

u are lol

George [3:30]

this was a bad idea

George [3:31]

I'm blocking your number

George [3:31]

goodbye

Minx [3:31]

NOOO GEORGEEEE

Minx [3:31]

dont block me ill be sad 

George [3:33]

cry about it

Minx [3:34]

GEORGE WTF

George [3:36]

[imagine of an ambulance with the caption “call the wambulance”]

Minx [3:37]

[image of someone flipping the bird]

George [3:39]

[image of Gordon Ramsey with a concerned look]

Minx [3:39]

[image with the caption “I want to nut in this boy so bad but I got a cochie🙄🙄🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️“]

Minx [3:39]

SHIT SHIT NO WIATA WRONG PICTUER

Minx [3:40]

IGNORE THST PLEASRE

George [3:40]

WHY DO YOU HAVE THAT SAVED IN THE FIRST PLACE

Minx [3:41]

YK WHAT CAN U SHUT UP

George [3:41]

LMAOOOOO

Minx [3:41]

STOP LAUGHING

George [3:42]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Minx [3:42]

IM BLOCKING YOU

George [3:43]

😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😂🤣🤣😂🤣🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂

Minx [3:43]

FUCK YOU

George [3:45]

[image of an uwu button with hearts surrounding it]

Minx [3:45]

STOP

Minx [3:46]

I HATE U

George [3:47]

[image of an axolotl smiling with hearts]

Minx [3:48]

ok thats super cute i can't even complain

George [3:48]

it's an axolotl :]

Minx [3:49]

wait I need to google this

Minx [3:52]

theyre adorable little fuckers omg wtf look

Minx [3:52]

[image of an axolotl]

George [3:54]

they are

George [3:54]

[image of an axolotl]

Minx [3:55]

the little open mouth aweeee

Minx [3:55]

theyre so cute what the hell

George [3:56]

they're in Minecraft now too

Minx [3:56]

THEY ARE??

George [3:59]

[image of a Minecraft axolotl]

Minx [4:00]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

George and Minx continued texting back and forth, sending random memes and talking about whatever. George found himself laughing at her messages a lot, at how easily she was riled up and how unfiltered the girl was.

A smile stayed on his face the whole time.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

"So what did you want to talk about?" Alyssa asked as the two of them made their way to a park bench some ways ahead of them. They were walking in a slow pace because of Alyssa's insistence that he take it easy.

"Well...a lot of stuff actually. I wanted to tell the whole group but I figured it would be easier if I started with you. Besides, you live close by so," Clay explained, kicking at a rock and sending it flying. Alyssa watched him out of the corner of his eye.

"By the whole group, do you mean..?"

"You, Sapnap, Callahan, Bad, Sam and Ponk," Clay responded with a nod. "The original group, until I kind of...distanced myself from all of you."

The two sat down on the park bench, Clay turning to look at Alyssa straight on.

"I'm sorry I did that, you guys weren't at fault and I could say I was in a bad place then because of the accident but that didn't- that would not excuse my actions, and you guys didn't deserve it. I shouldn't have taken it out on all of you."

"Clay, you don't have to apologize-" 

"No, but I do, Alyssa! I was a shitty friend, I pushed you all away when all you guys wanted to do was be there for me after it happened. I was an asshole to the group, for weeks, losing my cool for no reason whenever any of you tried to reach out. You guys were only trying to help, and I don't know why I couldn't see that."

Clay dropped his gaze, letting out a shaky breath as he stared at the space between them. Alyssa softly placed her hand over his. He hadn't even realized it was shaking.

"I'm sorry, Alyssa. You tried to be there for me, and I repaid you by telling you off and pushing you away. You didn't deserve that, and I'm so sorry. It was such a shitty thing to do. Even after time passed and I began talking to the others again, I never reached out to you. I'm sorry it took me this long to."

Alyssa let go of his hand and moved forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and bringing him in for a hug. Clay only froze for a split second before relaxing into her arms, wrapping his arms around her back and hugging her tightly.

"I'm so, so sorry," he muttered into her shoulder. She could feel her soft laughter against his chest.

"Stop apologizing, dummy. I forgive you. And you're here now, that's what matters."

Clay felt tears begin to well up in his eyes as he let out a wet laugh.

"You're too nice for your own good. You're going to get taken advantage of, one day."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Callahan wouldn't let that happen," Alyssa pulled back, giving him a soft grin. Clay smiled back.

"You two are still together?"

"Yup. Going 8 months strong now," Alyssa smiled proudly.

"That's amazing, Alyssa. I'm happy for both of you!"

"Thanks," Alyssa said, leaning back on the bench and looking up at the sky as a bird flew by. "He makes me happy."

"I can tell, you look happy."

Alyssa's smile turned mischievous, a sudden glint in her eye. "What about you?"

"What about me?" Clay asked, already feeling heat rising on his face.

"Found anybody new you fancy?"

"I, uh...well..."

"Oh my god, you have!" Alyssa gasped excitedly, leaning into Clay's space, her big, blue eyes sparkling. "You have to tell me who! Do I know them?"

"I- Kind of?"

"Give me a hint."

Clay bit his lip nervously, feeling his heart rate begin to speed up. It's okay, he told himself. He had already done this once, he could do it again.

"Well...okay. But this hint is going to give it away right off the bat."

"That's fine!"

Here goes nothing. "You dared this person to down their and Sapnap's full cup the night of the party."

Alyssa stared at him blankly for a few moments until recognition flickered in her expression. "Oh, oh, I had dared the transfer student- his name was George, I believe? And he ended up drinking both cups-" Alyssa cut herself off as it dawned on her. "Clay. You like...George?"

Clay nodded briefly, making Alyssa's grin widen immediately as she jumped forward to hug him again.

"Oh my god, Clay! That's amazing!" she practically shrieked into his ear, Clay flinching slightly at her volume, but a smile immediately bloomed on his face.

"Yeah?"

"Yes, Clay, it is!" she pulled back again, her hands grabbing his shoulders. "I haven't talked to him much but he seems super sweet. Plus, he's really pretty."

"He is, isn't he," Clay laughed lightly, his face probably flushed a deep scarlet. Alyssa was nodding in agreement.

"He is, he is. You have good taste in boys. Awe, you're all red and you're smiling so big!" Alyssa pointed at him with a big smile of her own. Clay absentmindedly moved his hand up to his mouth to cover his big, dopey grin. "This is so cute! You guys are so cute."

"Stop, Alyssa," Clay complained without heat, dropping his head in his hands. His cheeks were beginning to hurt from how wide he was smiling.

"You have to tell me everything! We can talk about boys now, Clay!" Alyssa said excitedly, practically bouncing in her seat. Clay laughed fondly at how thrilled she was over this.

"I keep forgetting you were the only girl in our group then. How did you deal with all the girl talk?"

"It wasn't that bad, I did always give you guys good advice, after all," Alyssa responded. "Plus, I got to spend more time with Callahan as a result of hanging out with the group, so I can't really complain."

"Ugh, affection. Disgusting," Clay joked, letting out a short wheeze as Alyssa lightly punched his shoulder.

"Says you," she quipped.

"Oh, leave me alone."

"No! Not until you tell me about him!"

Clay gave her a look but eventually cracked, a grin slipping back onto his face. "Alright, alright fine."

Beaming, he told her about George.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simp.
> 
> I actually wrote one huge chapter but I'm splitting it into two, so here's the first half and I'll be uploading the second half later on! :] Back to back updates lets go babyyyyy
> 
> (the next chapter is already posted on Wattpad so if you want to read ahead, here’s the link)
> 
> https://www.wattpad.com/1029807361?utm_source=ios&utm_medium=link&utm_content=share_reading&wp_page=reading_part_end&wp_uname=kirbakii&wp_originator=6dPLCEK57y%2B7L4nchDn%2BrrcLgP%2BIEDY0v7d6MxIyfEnRxtLkBlicXLK4yz3BDSLaCahgcfnw2eayEtQsC80snAHcjFPsfg5ePsTRut6bvs2DyziZgLFp6u2GxWHWoi0x 
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated alrighty
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay and Alyssa are besties canon (REAL!) (NOT CLICKBAIT!!)

"So this idiot- he's just whispering! He's whispering in an empty school! And I ask him why he's whispering and he just- he says it feels weird to talk normally, and I'm like okay weirdo."

"Did you really call him a weirdo," Alyssa's mouth quirked upwards.

"Yes yes, I did, to his face. Because like, who whispers in an empty school? Anyway, then he goes," Clay then switched to his best attempt at a British accent. "Clay I will drop you." Alyssa let out a laugh.

"Oh my gosh, did he??"

"No no of course not, but the way he said it was just so funny to me, I don't even know why, I just start laughing so hard. I practically bust a lung, and then he tries to shush me for some reason so naturally, I start laughing harder!" Clay wheezed a bit as he retold the memory, Alyssa softly laughing along as Clay shook his head fondly. "He's actually so dumb."

"What happened after?"

"After, we go into the restroom, right, and then George says and I quote: 'Go in there and do your business, I don't know.'"

"That's such an awkward thing to say," Alyssa giggled, Clay nodding his head as he continued to talk animatedly with his hands.

"Dude- yes, it was such an awkward statement, but I don't know- I thought it was cute? I teased him about it right after, and he got all pouty and told me to shut up. And all my brain could think was how adorable he looked," Clay grinned fondly as he looked down at his swinging legs. 

"Awwwww, that's so cute," Alyssa responded. Clay felt his face flush, beginning to get used to the sensation. He laughed lightly.

"Yeah, after that it kind of went down hill, though," Clay said. His legs stilled, replacing the movement with bouncing anxiously in place as Alyssa gave him a curious look.

He told her about how he found out that George didn't remember what happened at the party. And then immediately after that revelation, as they were walking back to the football field, they overheard the conversation between his ex-girlfriend Sam and the guy she had apparently cheated on him with.

"Oh my god Clay, that's terrible. I had no idea," Alyssa said softly. Clay gave her a smile, but he knew it didn't reach his eyes.

"Yeah, it sucks to know that she had been cheating on me then. But I'm glad I know the truth now," Clay shrugged, fiddling with his fingers. "I felt betrayed, but not because I still love her because I moved on long ago, but because I had loved her then and it was during that time she had done that."

"I understand," she nodded as Clay sighed.

"I had felt so guilty this whole time- that she had broken up with me because the accident not only marked me but her in extension. That she felt responsible for it as much as I did because she had been in a call with me when it happened, and that me distancing myself from her had made her feel worse. But this whole time she had just been- waiting. For an opportunity to end it, so she could finally be with the other guy without having to sneak around. And when she got that opportunity, she immediately took it, and I ended up feeling like I had been in the wrong and did her an injustice.."

The two of them fell silent, the distant sound of birds chirping and the breeze rustling the trees around them the only thing filling it. Alyssa spoke up first.

"I think you should talk to her."

"What- who, Sam? She actively cheated on me, there's no excuse for that, and obviously I'm never getting back with her so what would there be to talk about," Clay rebuked. Alyssa gave him a calculating gaze.

"Clay, I think you need to have a conversation with her about it. For closure," she began, continuing before Clay could get a word in. "You didn't date anyone for months after your break up with Sam, and you didn't even allow yourself to explore anything with anyone during that time. Like at the party, when Celestia kissed you? You had looked really out of it after and then left the room, and you told me some moments ago that you went outside to get fresh air because you started having what I'm assuming was a borderline panic attack. What was it that you had told George later on in the woods? About Celestia?"

Clay brought back the memory still engraved in his mind, how he had stared up at George while laying his head on his lap, an infinite night sky expanding above the trees surrounding them. "I told him that if I were in a better mindset, I wouldn't have minded exploring a relationship with Celestia."

"Right, and then you said something about feeling stuck?"

Clay nodded. "Yeah. That I had felt stuck for months and wouldn't commit myself to anyone again, because my mindset at that time was that it wasn't worth it to put in hard work in a relationship that would end just like that."

"Your mindset at that time," Alyssa repeated, her voice softening. "But it's changed, hasn't it? Because of George."

Clay hadn't thought of that. Looking back, he had already changed a lot in a handful of days, ever since that first time he fully opened up to someone about everything that had been clouding his mind for months. And it happened to be that the person he had opened up to was George.

If he went back in time and told his past self that in a matter of days he would finally reach out to his friends and talk to them about everything, he wouldn't have believed it. And yet here he was.

"Tell me, could you imagine yourself in a relationship now? Or if not right this second, in the near future?" Alyssa asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

He tried to imagine it. Being in a relationship again. He couldn't even remember what it felt like to be in one now, if he was being honest. It had been so long since he dated Sam, and he tried remembering what it had been like then.

He remembered taking Sam on dates. Going to the movies, playing games at an arcade, walking around the mall, staying at one of their houses to watch Netflix- not any big, flashy dates, but they had been nice. Simple.

Except he also remembered it hadn't been all that simple. Back then, he would look at their time spent together with fondness and bliss, but now that he no longer had those rose colored glasses on, he realized how off everything had been. How difficult it had been to be in that relationship, which is why he had felt he put so much work into it only for it to fall apart in the end.

They used to fight. A lot. He always brushed it off as something normal, because they always forgave each other and continued to love each other after every fight, but looking back at it now he realized it happened way too often. He always felt like an asshole after fighting with her and would be the first to apologize even if a voice in the back of his mind told him he had done nothing wrong. He was always walking on egg shells with her, hoping he wouldn't say the wrong thing at the wrong time and upset her again, because he hated upsetting her. It was suffocating, having to hold back on certain things he enjoyed to do and instead submit to her wishes, if only to please her. He realized quickly how emotionally exhausting it had been dating her.

Dating should be fun, freeing, calming, maybe even reassuring. It shouldn't feel hard, or confusing, or overly complicated. Every relationship has its bumps and bad days, but the point of being in one is to find a way to make it work regardless, and to be there for each other even when it's hard, isn't it? To find their way back to each other, to be each other's shoulder to lean on, to be with the person you trust most and feel most safe around, with the person that makes you happiest. 

It should feel like being with your best friend.

It hadn't been like that with Sam. They had their good days, but every relationship does. Unfortunately, the bad ones seemed to outweigh the good with her.

But now, could he imagine himself in an actually healthy relationship?

He imagined himself holding hands with someone, their fingers intertwined, bringing their knuckle up to his mouth to press a chaste kiss on it.

He imagined hugging someone, resting his chin on their hair and swaying them both slightly, the other in their arms hugging back just as tightly, maybe even burrowing their face in his chest.

He imagined laughing with someone, being unable to suppress his own wheezes and nearly falling over from the force of his laugh, the other person laughing just as loudly, their face scrunching up in delight.

He imagined cuddling with someone in bed, holding them close to their chest as their breathing would begin to even out, and they could fall asleep in the security and warmth of each other's arms.

He imagined dancing with someone, maybe in the middle of the rain with no music playing, but doing it with this person just because he could, just so he could hold their hand and bring them close to their chest, just so he could dip them low and make them laugh loudly, because he loved the sound of their laugh.

He imagined the smaller things, too. Cleaning a crumb of food off the corner of this person's mouth. Burying themselves into books together a week before an exam. Offering his umbrella to the person when they forgot theirs, only for them to walk home together under it. Cracking a joke just to see their face light up and to hear the laughter bubble out of them. The feeling of just seeing their smile and it already making their day infinitely better.

He imagined himself in so many different scenarios, and in every single one, he imagined them with George. There was nobody else he could imagine himself doing that with- nobody else he wanted to do all of that with. His heart continued to beat rapidly against his chest, his stomach swarming with butterflies at the mere thought.

"You can, right?" Alyssa gave him a reassuring smile. Clay stared at her for a moment before nodding.

He definitely could.

"And that's great," she started again. "But I can imagine what you found out about Sam is weighing heavily in your mind nonetheless."

"Are you a mind reader or something," Clay laughed a bit but it came out strained, otherwise confirming her words. She gave him a sad smile.

"I think having that closure will really help. You can talk to her, ask her why she did what she did or any other burning question you may have, and you don't even have to forgive her by the end of it. But I think- talking to her about it will finally put you at peace with it, you know?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right," Clay agreed, carding his hand through his hair and possibly leaving it a messy disarray atop his head. "It's going to suck, though."

"Nobody said it was going to be easy."

The two fell silent as they watched a pigeon fly down in front of them, landing near their feet, it's head bobbing up and down as it walked by them in a sort of semi-circle. Alyssa leaned towards him a bit and nudged his shoulder softly.

"It could also give you a chance to talk to her about the accident," she said, her voice just above a whisper. Clay sucked in a sharp breath, not turning towards her. She continued. "You also need closure on that, too. It would be a good place to start."

Clay knew she was right. It didn't make hearing it any easier.

"But don't push yourself to talk to her now if you're not ready. Take it at your own pace," Alyssa patted his leg lightly, making Clay look back up at her and flash her a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Alyssa. I appreciate it more than you know. Talking to you has already helped a lot."

"Anytime, Clay," she beamed back. Just then, her phone buzzed a couple of times in her back pocket. She reached back to retrieve it, seemingly reading something off the screen.

"What is it?" Clay asked. Alyssa glanced at him briefly before beginning to type on her phone.

"It's Callahan. He's asking where I am since he wanted to pass by my house in a bit. I'll tell him I'll meet up with him later-"

"Tell him to come here," Clay blurted out, lightly grabbing her wrist to stop her from typing anything. She regarded him carefully, her eyes widening the slightest bit.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he nodded, giving her a determined look. She hesitated for a second before turning back to continue typing away at her phone. In the meantime, Clay took his own phone out and opened up his messages, looking for a group chat that had been inactive for months.

Until now.

He quickly typed out a message, his fingers flying over the keyboard at the bottom of his screen. He hesitated over the send button before pressing it, a satisfying whoosh sounding from his phone. He glanced back to see the moment Alyssa got the notification on her phone and her eyes widened even more so, her eyes darting back to his.

"Clay, what...?"

"I need to talk to them too," Clay responded as an explanation. "All of them. I hope they're not busy."

"You're sure?"

Clay had initially done it on impulse, but there was no going back now. It was a good time as any to finally do what he had been avoiding for months. He nodded. "I'm sure."

Alyssa hugged him again, and Clay immediately returned the gesture. 

"I'm proud of you, you know," she smiled into his hair. "You're one of the bravest people I know."

"Well, I don't know about that," Clay chuckled, but smiled in thanks as they both pulled back. He could think of several braver people, but he didn't mention it. Both of their phones began vibrating with rapid, incoming messages from the revived group chat.

Clay [3:48]

Hey, I really need to talk to all of you, are you guys free?

Simpnap [3:48]

hey sexy

Goodgirlhalo [3:48]

Language

Callahottie [3:50]

:0

Simpnap [3:52]

sexy isnt language >:(

Goodgirlhalo [3:52]

Language!

Goodgirlhalo [3:52]

Also I'm free owo

Ponkadonk [3:53]

Im free as well

Clay [3:53]

Is Sam active?

Ponkadonk [3:54]

he was a while ago

Awesamdad [3:56]

I'm free :)

Ponkadonk [3:56]

Sam!

Awesamdad [3:56]

Ponk!

Ponkadonk [3:56]

hi :D

Awesamdad [3:57]

hello :)

Clay [3:57]  
Can you guys come to the park near me and Alyssa's house

Clay [3:58]  
The one we used to go to

Clay [3:58]

Alyssa and I are already here

Awesamdude [3:58]

alright

Goodgirlhalo [3:59]

I'll be there soon!

Ponkadonk [4:00]

me too Ill be there

Callahottie [4:01]

I'm already on my way

Alyssaaa [4:01]

Callahan my beloved😍

Callahottie [4:02]

Alyssa my adored😍😍😍

Alyssaaa [4:02]

omg I'm blushing

Simpnap [4:04]

i feel so single rn

Clay [4:04]

You won't feel that way for long I'm sure ;)

Simpnap [4:05]

CLAY

Simpnap [4:05]

LITERALLY STOP TALKING

Goodgirlhalo [4:05]

o.o

Clay [4:06]

I'm not talking I'm typing

Clay [4:06]

Dummy

Simpnap [4:07]

clay stg when I get there i will jump u

Goodgirlhalo [4:08]

Sapnap that's mean D:

Simpnap [4:08]

its what he deserves

Clay [4:08]

Love u too babe

Goodgirlhalo [4:09]

ಠ_ಠ

Ponkadonk [4:09]

someone pass the popcorn

Callahottie [4:09]

🍿

Awesamdad [4:09]

🍿

Alyssaaa [4:10]

Cal beat you to it lol

Awesamdad [4:10]

I know :(

Callahottie [4:10]

I am speed

Ponkadonk [4:12]

its ok the more the better!

Ponkadonk [4:12]

thank u for the popcorn both of u :D🍿🍿

Awesamdad [4:12]

:)

Callahottie [4:13]

:)

Goodgirlhalo [4:13]

owo

Simpnap [4:16]

clay suck my dick

Ponkadonk [4:16]

LMAOOOO

Goodgirlhalo [4:16]

LANGUAGE SAPNAP!

Clay [4:17]

Don't have to ask me twice🥵

Awesamdad [4:17]

that took a turn

Callahottie [4:19]

and you say I get all the bitches🤨

Goodgirlhalo [4:19]

Language

Simpnap [4:20]

Callahan you literally DO get all the bitches

Alyssaaa [4:20]

did you just call me a bitch

Goodgirlhalo [4:20]

Language!!

Callahottie [4:20]

I'm just too good😎

Goodgirlhalo [4:21]

Nobody listens to me :(

Clay [4:21]

I listen to you Bad :)

Goodgirlhalo [4:22]

Thank you Clay :3

Clay [4:22]

Fuck shit dammit 

Goodgirlhalo [4:22]

AHHH STOP

Goodgirlhalo [4:22]

LANGUAGE

Alyssaaa [4:23]

awee poor bad

Simpnap [4:28]

im omw to the park

Callahottie [4:29]

to suck his dick?

Ponkadonk [4:29]

BAHAHAHAHAH

Awesamdad [4:30]

😀

Simpnap [4:32]

yea i am😍

Clay [4:32]

😏

Goodgirlhalo [4:32]

That is it I'm leaving

Callahottie [4:33]

to the park right

Simpnap [4:33]

to suck his dick too right

Alyssaaa [4:33]

OML

Goodgirlhalo [4:33]

STOP IT

Awesamdad [4:35]

Bad was slain by language

Ponkadonk [4:35]

😂😂😂

Alyssaaa [4:35]

😭

Callahottie [4:36]

HAHAHA

Clay [4:37]

Guys stop I think I'm actually going to bust a lung

Alyssaaa [4:37]

can confirm, he hasn't stopped wheezing 

Simpnap [4:39]

awe my favorite tea kettle bitch boy <3

Goodgirlhalo [4:39]

Languageeeee

Clay [4:40]

I really missed you guys :')

Goodgirlhalo [4:40]

Awww we missed you too muffinhead :D

Ponkadonk [4:41]

we missed u 2!♥️

Ponkadonk [4:41]

Im glad u revived this gc 

Awesamdad [4:42]

can't wait to see all of you guys :)

Callahottie [4:42]

<333

Alyssaaa [4:42]

:)♥️♥️

Simpnap [4:56]

im there where r u

Clay [4:57]

Oh wait I think I see you

Clay got up from the bench, looking out past the park to where the parking lot was ahead of them. He had spotted Sapnap's car pulling in and parking, and he had gotten down and was looking around the park area.

"Alyssa, stay here. I'll be right back," he said, and Alyssa nodded before he took off running towards Sapnap. He ignored the jolt of pain the action sent through his whole leg, pushing forward stubbornly even as his foot continued to hurt with every step taken. He yelled his name, and the other perked up at that and finally spotted him.

Clay continued running towards him, and with a smile he watched Sapnap break off into a run himself, meeting him halfway. Without warning, Clay practically barreled into Sapnap's arms, making the other let out a soft oof as he hugged him tightly.

"I'm pretty sure I was going to be the one jumping you, Claydoh," Sapnap chuckled into his shoulder, but soon enough was hugging Clay back.

"Sorry, I've just been wanting to do that since our call this morning," Clay responded honestly as he pulled back, a soft smile etched into his features. Sapnap returned it, a wordless understanding passing between the two of them.

"Poor Alyssa. You left her alone, asshole," Sapnap snickered, slinging an arm around his shoulder as the two walked back towards the way Clay had came. Clay's leg was throbbing painfully now, but he didn't care.

"Shut up," Clay rolled his eyes, a wide smile on his face. "Let's go wait for the others to arrive."

"Sure thing, bossman."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

Minx [4:20]

omg it's 4:20

George [4:20]  
wow Minx

George [4:20]

can't believe you know how to tell the time

Minx [4:21]

yk what nvm asshole

Minx [4:21]

oh that reminds me

Minx [4:21]

i wanna ask u smth

George [4:22]

what's up?

Minx [4:23]

is it cool if i call u

George [4:24]

sure

George's phone began vibrating in his hand with an incoming call. He felt his heart lodge itself in his throat as he picked up, suddenly nervous.

"Hello-" George was cut off, a heavy, irish accent filling his ears as Minx began speaking so quickly that her words jumbled together and George wasn't able to understand anything. "Minx, Minx, wait. Slow down. Say that again?"

There was a long groan which made George smile in amusement before Minx started up again but a lot slower, as though she were speaking to a toddler. "I said, are. You. Free. Tomorrow?"

George dropped his chin on his hand, his arm resting atop his criss-crossed legs. "I don't know. Maybe. I have to check my schedule. I'm a busy man, you know."

"Georgeeeeee," Minx whined, and George had to physically fight down another smile, covering his mouth with his hand. "C'mon, enough already. Are you?"

"I am," George finally admitted. He could practically hear Minx smiling as she spoke.

"Okay. Okay good. That's good. That's very good."

"And why is that good, Minx?"

"Because that way I'll get to have you all for myself," Minx responded, before backtracking quickly. "Wait, no. Oh god, that sounds wrong. I didn't mean it like that."

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were flirting with me, Minx," George said in a flash of boldness. Minx instantly began stammering on the other side, making George laugh lightly.

"Shut up, George, it's not funny," she mumbled finally, and he could imagine she was pouting. "I was going to ask you to hang out with me somewhere tomorrow but I'm starting to have second thoughts."

"Where are we hanging out?"

Minx paused at that. "You would want to?"

"Sure, why not. It's not like I have anything better to do," George teased as he flopped backwards onto his bed.

"Shut up," Minx huffed, but there was a smile evident in her voice. "I'll pick you up tomorrow then. You're staying with Karl, right?"

"I am."

"Alright, cool. And don't ask where we're going, cause it's a surprise," Minx added quickly, and George's cheeks hurt from how hard he was smiling, his stomach fluttering and his heart racing in anticipation of tomorrow.

"Can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That awkward moment you're reading a dnf book but then Minx and George are suddenly going on a date. Talk about one step forward, two steps back with this dude
> 
> Here's the second half of the big fat chapter I had written, the original was almost 8k words so I had to split it up into two chapters lmao
> 
> Also just wanted to quickly say THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR OVER 20K HITS AND OVER 1K KUDOS!! THATS INSANE GUYS OMG THANK YOU ALL I never once thought it would gain this much attention, thank you all so much for giving this story a chance and for showing me so much love, I know I say this practically every update but I rlly do appreciate you all and I love you guys I'm virtually hugging u rn
> 
> Ending this a/n here! Hasta la proxima, remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated mis pequeños <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has an awakening...while sleeping

Once everyone arrived, the group made their way to the grassy area of the park and first, apologized to all of them. Several times. And after they were practically begging him to quit apologizing already, after insisting and reassuring him that they forgave him, he told them everything.

Everything he told George that night at that party, from his failed relationship, the accident, and the overwhelming guilt he's been carrying since, the nightmares that have haunted him for months. Everything.

Somehow, having already talked about it once made the second time easier. He still got choked up in a few parts, but he didn't even shed a tear. Talking about it more really did start to make it easier, even if by the smallest fraction, but the change was there.

Besides, he had his friends by his side the whole time. 

Sapnap holding his hand reassuringly, allowing Clay to grip onto him on the especially difficult parts that needed to be said, Bad slightly leaning his weight into his side, a reminder he was there, Alyssa behind him, making tiny braids out of the longer strands of his wavy, blond locks, allowing him to relax from the delicate touch, Sam passing him a water bottle whenever it was needed, or offering him some grapes he had brought with him, Ponk sitting with his legs straight forward in front of Clay's, his feet lightly tapping onto his in a soothing rhythm, Callahan watching him intently the whole time, his entire focus on Clay alone, helping him ground himself as he spoke.

They were all there for him. He felt like the biggest dickhead on planet Earth, in the entire universe, even, for having pushed them away before.

When he finished talking, they all gathered around him, as though he were the sun and by some force of gravity, all the other planets in the solar system had been pulled to the center with it, surrounding it in a comforting heat that somehow even the sun didn't hold, and hugged it tenderly. They wrapped their arms around him, and in the protective arms of his friends, the first tears finally began to fall.

How did he get this incredibly lucky?

He truly didn't deserve them.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

When the following day finally came, and after Karl finally convinced him to change into some "decent clothing," George walked out the front door to find Minx waiting in front of Karl's house, rolling down the window of her white sedan with a mischievous glint in her eye. When he asked where Niki was, she said not to worry about her, because she was taking a painting class for the whole day.

George didn't say it out loud, but he was glad it would just be the two of them.

The car ride at first was a bit awkward, but it was understandable. They were practically perfect strangers and just starting to warm up to each other, and that much was true because as time passed they both seemed to relax a bit, and that initial tension quickly dissipated. The rest of the day, the two bickered and teased each other as if they had been doing so for years, as if they didn't just meet a few days prior.

Minx didn't take him to a single location. They went all over the place that day, Minx insisting he had to begin to explore the city since he would be spending the next 6 months there. She took him to an outdoor mall first to eat at a popular American restaurant in the morning, then they spent some time looking around some of the shops (mostly Game Stop). At midday they went bowling, Minx beating George easily time and time again though she had obviously rigged it (he beat her once in the end, though. That didn't stop her from rubbing her previous wins in his face). Nearing the afternoon they went to Dave and Busters where they ate lunch and George managed to get back at her by securing several wins in the arcade, along with bragging rights of course (he ended up using the points he earned to get a medium sized white Alpaca. He gave it to Minx). Finally, they ended the day at a karaoke place, in which Minx shamelessly sang very loudly and very proudly while George hardly sang a note at all, but enjoyed watching her sing her heart out (albeit terribly).

On their way out, they nearly ran into Schlatt, of all people. Talk about awkward. 

They ended up ducking into an alley way beside the karaoke building and waited for him to leave. Thankfully, he didn't see them and eventually left, and the two snickered about it on their way back to Minx's car.

Minx drove George home, dropping him off just before the curfew Karl had demanded he be home by (10:00 p.m.). She walked him up to the door, the two trying to keep their voice low in case Sean or Karl were already asleep inside, and George grabbed the house key hidden under one of the potted plants beside the doorway. Before unlocking the door, he turned towards Minx, who was looking at him expectantly.

"Well, good night. I had a fun day," George grinned, and it was true. He was surprised they managed to fit so many activities into one single day, but he wasn't complaining. It had been a blast hanging out with Minx, she made for good company.

"Of course you did, I planned it," Minx teased, lightly punching his shoulder. George playfully rolled his eyes at her before the two stared at each other, a silence falling between them. The air was suddenly heavy, and George felt his heart rate begin to pick up.

Oh.

George's eyes flickered down to Minx's mouth. 

Was this the right moment?

He noticed Minx begin to lean in.

Was this really happening?

George suddenly became aware of the closing distance between the two. They were practically a breath away now, and George watched as Minx's eyes fluttered closed. There was no denying what was about to happen.

This is going too fast.

In a moments panic, George jerked back a couple of inches, making Minx's eyes fly back open. He hated the look of rejection that briefly flashed in them, so he leaned in again and instead pressed a quick kiss on her cheek to hopefully make up for it.

"I'm sorry," he murmured when he pulled back. "I just don't think we should..." he trailed off, and he didn't have to say what for because he could tell Minx understood. George felt a little better when Minx gave him a small smile.

"Don't apologize. You're right, we would probably be better off as friends anyway," Minx waved him off. George nodded in agreement.

"See you tomorrow," he whispered, stepping back to the door and unlocking it. He heard Minx echo a "good night," before he shut the door, making sure to lock it. He turned his back to the door and leaned against it, carding his hand through his hair in frustration. He distantly heard Minx start her car and drive off as he slid to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest, his eyebrows furrowed.

Why hadn't he just kiss her???

They had such an incredible day together, and he really did like Minx. She was hilarious, easy to talk to, and super fun to be around. Not to mention incredibly pretty. So why, when the moment came, he couldn't do it?

Did he not like Minx enough? But that was ridiculous, if he didn't he wouldn't have been able to enjoy an entire day in her company as much as he had.

Unless, he just didn't like her in that way? 

Did he really only see Minx as a friend?

George let out a huff of exasperation, moving to get off the floor and to his feet. His head was starting to hurt from overthinking, and he did have a long day. He decided he would worry about his jumble of feelings tomorrow.

He slowly made his way up the stairs and down the hall to his and Karl's room. The house was quiet, and as George slowly inched the door open, he could see why.

Karl was sprawled out on his bed, his blankets moving up and down as he let out soft huffs of air that could have almost been snores. He was out cold. George felt himself smiling fondly as he got a set of clothes to sleep in, moving to the restroom to change out of the ones he had on. Once he was changed, he slowly got on his bed, the bed creaking under his weight. He moved under the covers and got comfortable, his eyes falling shut as his breathing began to slow.

He was out like a light.

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George's eyes began to flutter open as a brightness flashed behind his closed lids. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and cringed at the light coming from beside his bed. He sat upright, feeling disoriented for a second as he squinted at his open laptop atop his nightstand, it's screen blank but emitting a white light.

"What the hell?" he muttered in confusion. George pulled himself out of bed, his movements sluggish and feeling as though he were walking underwater. He glanced at Karl's bed, noticing the boy was still fast asleep in his own bed. He found it odd that the beam of light only seemed to hit George's bed and some of the surrounding area, leaving the rest of the room dark.

He reached forward to shut the laptop closed when a voice boomed in his ears, shouting, "WAIT!"

Startled, he jerked his hand back and fell to the floor, scrambling away from the laptop. He watched with a mix of fear and fascination as a hand emerged from the screen, popping out of it as if it were 3D.

"Come," the voice boomed in his ears again. In a sort of daze, and almost as though he were under some sort of trance, he got off the floor and walked back towards it, hesitantly placing his own hand atop the other's. The hand suddenly gripped onto him and pulled, George feeling his stomach drop as he was sucked into the blank screen of the laptop. He felt a rushing of wind hit his face, making his eyes sting and his ears ring loudly. He shut his eyes tight before it all suddenly stopped, and he was met with an eery silence all around him.

He slowly opened his eyes to find someone standing in front of him. He didn't know who they were, nor what they looked like. He couldn't see the person at all, really, no matter how hard he tried to, but he knew they were there, and he was still holding onto their hand, though he couldn't really see it.

"Greetings, Georgenotfound," the voice spoke in his ear again, but softer this time. George let go of them and looked around him to find that everything was blank, infinite white nothingness in all directions.

"Where am I?" George asked, feeling a false sense of calm wash over him despite everything that was happening. He turned to the person next. "Who are you?"

"I'm Dream," the voice said. George blinked in surprise as the voice continued. "You can't really see me because you don't yet know who I am, but you somehow know that I'm standing in front of you, don't you? Freaky, right?"

"This is so weird," George whispered as he gazed into the person's eyes, seeing absolutely nothing. He reached up towards the persons face to lightly caress their cheek, feeling it there, knowing it's there, but not seeing it. He could feel Dream lean into the touch, and somehow he knew they were smiling.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" George asked in wonder, not retracting his hand. A soft chuckle filled his ears.

"You're just now coming to that conclusion? C'mon, George. I thought you were smarter than that," the voice teased lightly. George frowned as he muttered a "shut up" with no real heat behind it.

"Hmmm, you must miss me if I'm showing up in your dreams now. Simp behavior," the voice cooed.

"Even in my dreams you're annoying. Good to know," George drawled sarcastically as he finally let go of Dream's face. Dream laughed, and for some reason after the sound stopped George only wanted to hear it again. Instead of saying that, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know. You're the one dreaming this up, dummy," Dream smiled innocently, and George had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at them.

"But why you of all people? Why not someone else- like Minx. I hung out with her all day and was just thinking about her before going to bed, wouldn't it make sense for her to show up in my dreams instead?"

Dream tilted his head to the side. "Maybe, and yet I'm the one that's here."

"But I haven't even thought about you today," George's brows furrowed in confusion. Dream moved closer to him, hooking a cool finger under his chin and tilting his head upwards, the action giving him a sense of deja vu.

"Maybe you think about me more than you think. Maybe I've been in your subconscious all along," they responded with amusement twinkling in their not-there eyes. George felt his cheeks flush the slightest bit.

"I don't even know who you are. Or what you look like."

"Doesn't seem to matter to you though, does it," the voice countered, before leaning in closer. "Unless there's someone you secretly want me to be?"

Dream stepped away before he could rebuke their statement, putting their hands behind their back and leaning back a little on their feet. "Why do you think about me so much, George?"

"I don't think of you," George said stubbornly, crossing his arms. At Dream's unconvinced look, he admitted, "I guess because I wonder sometimes."

"Wonder what?"

"Who you are. Why you decided to email me that first time. Why me out of all people. Why you haven't responded to my last email and if maybe I said something that-" George stopped there, pressing his lips into a thin line. Dream looked amused.

"And you say you don't think about me," they giggled, and George ignored the heat pooling in his face.

"Shut up."

"You tell me to shut up a lot, and yet you want me to email you back," Dream grinned mischievously, laughing when George stuck his tongue out at them. "It's cute."

"Don't call me cute."

"You always get embarrassed when I call you cute," Dream pointed out. George opened his mouth to speak when the voice cut him off again. "How do I know? Cause I'm literally in your head, George. All of this is coming from your brain, so I happen to know everything that's in there."

"How convenient," George answered with lack of anything better to say, and that made Dream laugh again. George realized he liked making Dream laugh.

"You're such an idiot," the voice said with fondness evident in their voice, and George felt that same feeling of deja vu again. That made Dream regard George closely, studying his face.

"You know, it's weird," Dream started, and when they stopped talking there, George looked at them with confusion.

"What's weird?"

"Even though you don't actually know who I am, you gave me the mannerisms of someone you do know," Dream finished simply. George felt his cheeks warm again, for some reason feeling embarrassed.

"Who?" he asked anyway. Dream walked up to him again, coming up so close to George that he had to look up to meet their eyes.

"You know who. I don't even have to tell you," Dream whispered, and suddenly he wasn't looking at eyes of nothing, but ones he could actually see. 

Ones he had stared into before. 

He gazed into them now, suddenly feeling tired. His vision was beginning to turn hazy in the edges.

"What color are your eyes?" he heard himself mumble, and he felt it was a question he had already asked before.

"Green," the voice humored him, except now it was one he recognized.

"I knew it. There was no way your eyes were pissed colored," he responded automatically, feeling as if he were reciting the lines of a play he somehow knew by heart. The person burst out laughing, their face drawing ever so slightly nearer, and George felt his heart hiccuping in his chest at the sound. His eyes were growing heavy, and finally he couldn't keep them open any longer.

"Sleep now," he said as a form of explaining his eyes drawing closed. Suddenly he was back in his bed, and he knew there was someone lying beside him, watching him, but he didn't open his eyes to look. 

There was no reason to. George felt safe with him.

"Good night, George," Clay whispered, his voice echoing in his mind, like a memory. George felt himself smiling.

"Night."

ˑ༄ؘ ۪۪۫۫ ▹▫◃ ۪۪۫۫ ༄ؘ ˑ

George woke up in the middle of the night to blood rushing in his ears, his heart insistently pounding against his chest, and his face burning to the touch. He yanked the covers off of him, feeling pinpricks of sweat uncomfortably clinging on to every inch of his body. He stared into the darkness of the room, looking at absolutely nothing while his mind raced with a million different thoughts.

He didn't fall asleep again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to keep this chapter short :) what did you guys think? I'm kind of proud of how I wrote the dream sequence ngl. Hopefully it made sense, and if it didn't, lol it's a dream anyway and dreams can be confusing, so have fun trying to decipher it!
> 
> Remember to take breaks from your phone, eat your meals, and stay hydrated my little meow meows <3
> 
> \- Kirbs -


End file.
